Creativity - IDA Ireland

THE IRISH MIND »
Catherine Day,
secretary-general of
the European
Commission,
pictured with José
Manuel Barroso,
European
Commission
president
states have to do most of the work themselves, but we can provide
the missing links to bring it all together.”
IRELAND IN EUROPE
Despite recent challenges, and strained relations at times, Day
believes that Ireland still has an important role at the heart of
Europe, and that the benefits of membership continue to be
highly significant.
“Being a small, open economy in a bigger entity takes away a
lot of the disadvantages of being small and on the fringe,” she
says. “Also in a new digital economy, location becomes less
important, and I think what Ireland has lots of is the kind of creativity
that you need in the digital age. It’s not only for tax reasons
that companies like Google are here. I’ve talked to them
and it is also because they can get the kind of graduates who
have not only the technical training, but also that creative side.
“That’s always been a part of the Irish make-up, so I think
that’s a very important asset – highly educated, English speaking,
but also creative, open-minded people.”
That is just one of our many strengths, maintains Day. “Ireland
has a very pro-business environment, and will always
attract that kind of investment, but what’s been different in the
last 10 years is we now have home-grown multinationals as
well, something we never had before. It shows that it’s not just
an attractive place for inward investment, it’s an attractive
environment for investment, full stop.”
Day says the determination of Irish people to recover from
the recent travails is striking. “You hear it from everybody here
– ‘Yes, it is tough, but what choice do we have but to succeed’. I
think we Irish are probably at our best in adversity so I think
that’s a very good key to the future.”
And Ireland continues to punch above its weight in Europe,
she continues. “Ireland, as a fully paid up member, can also
shape the agenda in Europe. Yes, we have had our ups and
downs. There have been times when we’ve been very involved,
but we had become more detached in recent years. I think the
understanding is there again that you have to invest in this, that
this has to be a long-term engagement.”
It is interesting to note that when Day became secretarygeneral
in 1995, she succeeded another Irish colleague David
O’Sullivan. It was purely coincidental she says, but is still a testament
to how well regarded Irish people are in European
circles.
“There are a lot of Irish people in strategic positions in Europe,
some more visible than others. Everybody thinks there are
loads of Irish people – they don’t realise it is such a small population
– just because we get about so much. We are also not seen
to have the big country agenda so we’re very acceptable everywhere,
and we have that flexibility and we like tick-tacking and
networking. That’s also part of our character and background.
We’re very sociable, very good communicators, we don’t take
ourselves too seriously, we’re not seen as a threat to people so
they open up more to us. I think all of that is part of the mix.”
Clearly, Catherine Day has herself all the qualities she attributes
to the Irish psyche, and it is not hard to see how she has
achieved her meteoric rise to become the top civil servant in
Europe. Her enthusiasm and drive have clearly not been diminished
over the years.
“It has been a very satisfying role,” she tells me. “There is
nothing more satisfying than when you see it coming together.
Just take the example of energy and climate change. There were
potentially two opposing agendas here. The eastern European
member states were more concerned about energy security,
while the rest of Europe was more focused on the climate
change issues. It was only by putting a European package
together that addressed all the concerns that everyone could
agree on that, and that we have made such great progress in
this area.”
As regards her native Ireland, Day is characteristically
upbeat. “It is not only because I’m Irish, but I do think Ireland
will come out of this leaner, fitter, better,” she says. “It will be
painful. People will have to pay the price for it, including people
who had nothing to do with getting us into this situation.
But I think Ireland has so much going for it – a strong currency,
a sound economy, all the right fundamentals. We have
great confidence that Ireland will make it though, and it will
be back again as one of the success stories of the European
Union.”
Issue 2 Spring/Summer 2011 INNOVATION IRELAND REVIEW 27