[caption id="attachment_69792" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Taoiseach Enda Kenny speaking at the event organized by the Irish Business Organization and hosted by Mutual of America. "]
Amid the skyscrapers of midtown Manhattan, Enda Kenny struck a determined note.
Focusing on the less than soaring Irish economy, the taoiseach returned again and again to the plight of the young.
His government was trying to resolve the problems it faces "so that young people could have employment and careers and opportunities to live and work in our country if that's what they wished to do," he said.
The Irish Business Organization hosted the event at which Kenny focused on the young people of Ireland. The location was facilitated by
Thomas J. Moran, CEO and President of Mutual of America.
Francis X. Comerford, Chief Revenue Officer at NBC, and the Grand Marshall of the 2012 New York St. Patrick's Day Parade, also spoke at the gathering last Thursday at Mutual's Park Avenue headquarters.
Kenny's message was tailored to answer the concerns of an audience that might uself have experienced emigration. He praised the flexible education system that Ireland provides, and said that it equips Irish citizens to succeed wherever they may be.
"Our young people can stand on any stage around the world with competence and with confidence and project the image of a country of which they can be truly proud," he said.
But the main efforts of his government would be to reduce Ireland's 14 percent unemployment rate and see to it that a new generation is not forced to leave.
Richard Bruton, minister for enterprise, jobs and innovation, was in the audience and Kenny said the purpose of their trip was to give American investors a taste of what Ireland is like.
"The focus of our visit here is to interact with them, to tell them what it is that we offer, the kind of personality that country has, the sorts of issues that are important to us," he said.
This was the first time since the foundation of the state that Ireland has lost control of its economic sovereignty and Kenny was frank about a situation in which the government finds itself.
The European Central Bank, the European Commission and the IMF, now conduct a quarterly analysis of Ireland's finances.
"They come to your country, they analyze what it is you've done in the past three months (and ask) have you complied with the conditions that you signed on for in drawing down money? And what are your intentions in measuring out the remainder of the program that you're in?" he explained.
"This is like in your own house or your own business, if you say, 'I'd like to make the following decisions next week' and somebody in the corner says, 'sorry, you can't do that because you don't have the money.'"
Perhaps more than ever before, Ireland is now intent on drawing on its diaspora, represented in this room by IBO members.
The taoiseach offered "open access to the government of Ireland in the context of what can be done "with investment from Ireland to America or from America to Ireland."
He said that Ireland's links with America have always been strong, noting that almost every family in Ireland has U.S. connections in a web that spreads from Montana to Texas to San Francisco and New York.
His message clearly struck a chord.
"I was really happy to get an understanding of where their economy is going, the sense of hope in the future, and how much the young
people are going to be part of that," said Ann Connolly after Kenny's speech.
A member of the IBO, Connolly is originally from Cavan, but now lives in Manhattan.
The president of the IBO, Sheila Lynott Hourican, was pleased by the taoiseach's emphasis on the role small businesses will play in the Irish economy going forward.
"I've known all along that he's a big believer in small business," she said. "It's going to be the little guy who's going to pull us out of the recession by their sheer tenacity and passion."
Lynott Hourican explained that the IBO wants to promote even better business links between the U.S. and Ireland.
With the recent growth in emigration, Ireland was again adding to American resources.
"At the moment what they're doing is they're sending some of the most talented and educated people out here," she said.
"We just need to ensure that that path stays open, and the E3 visa bill is the first step towards that," she said in reference to a visa measure currently before Congress.
Kenny, in his speech, noted that his government has designated 2013 as the "Year of the Gathering," an invitation to the global Irish community to return home.
"If any of you people are going home and need any assistance or any comfort - or maybe an odd old half one," he joked, "give us a call."
Actually, given his audience, the taoiseach would do well to welcome one or two.
