“It’s about jobs, dummy!”
I attended the Irish Banking Federation National Conference last week (12/10/11). Interesting session, a lot of humility around, matched by a determination to start rebuilding, beginning with the trust between the customers and their bank!
It was styled ‘Building the New Banking Architecture’ a theme that was open to several interpretations. However the two strands that emerged were rebuilding the relationships between the banks and the regulators / governments and between the banks and their customers. A bit of work to do there! In fairness though, the tone was earnest.
One thing I found particularly interesting was the address (via recorded video) by Olli Rehn EU Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs. Whilst acknowledging the tough times Ireland and indeed the whole of Europe faces he listed 3 things which gave him cause for hope that Ireland will emerge from the current morass relatively quickly (relative to what being a valid question).
1) The similarity in Ireland’s banking crisis to those experienced by Sweden and Finland in the early 90’s from which they emerged following a round of fiscal rectitude and bank recapitalisation.
2) Empirical evidence over recent months that Ireland has started to manage its costs and implement reform whilst remaining stable politically and socially.
3) Ireland’s ability to drive growth through an export-led economy.
I was struck by this last point, particularly as I had recently been chatting with John Whelan, CEO of the Irish Exporters Association for a forthcoming article in our Hays Vision magazine. The IEA have put together an excellent pre-budget submission which should be required reading for anybody interested in job creation and economic growth in Ireland. John and the IEA are calling for a jobs-friendly budget focussed on facilitating access to finance and tax-breaks for indigenous Irish companies and start-ups (among a range of other measures).
Attending an IEA event the following morning (13/10/11) – I’m paid just to attend events and eat the food! – the message was ‘finance is available and so is credit insurance’. So we have a very strong link between credit and jobs and, to my mind, job creation clearly emerging as the central plank in our recovery.
Significant savings from wastage and postponing or cancelling some large scale infrastructure projects is preferable to tax hikes which will further disincentivise workers. Funds must also be found to encourage entrepreneurship and job creation, especially those aimed at tourism and exports.
And the title of this blog? I reckon for the next year at least, every presentation given by any organisation in this country should have a sub-heading “It’s about jobs, dummy!”
Richie is a Business Director with Hays Recruitment.
Richie is a Business Director with Hays Recruitment.
Labels: Accountant jobs, credit management, hays ireland, Hays Recruitment, IEA, irish banking federation
posted by Richie Smith
