President Halonen visited Ireland

President of the Republic Tarja Halonen and Dr Pentti Arajärvi were on a state visit to Ireland on 11-14 November 2007. The official reception ceremonies and official discussions with President Mary McAleese and Prime Minister Bertie Ahern took place on Monday. The discussions between President Halonen and Prime Minister Bertie Ahern focussed on the EU Reform Treaty, international crisis management and the EU's foreign relations, in particular with Russia and the United States. Prime Minister Ahern expressed condolences over the incident at Jokela. Later on Monday, President Halonen also met Mr John O’Donoghue TD, Chairman of Dáil Éireann and Senator Pat Moylan, Chairman of Seanad Éireann.

Irish boys’ school pupils gave President Halonen a message of condolence following the incident at Jokela after the meeting President of Ireland Mary McAleese (right) and Dr Martin McAleese. Copyright © Office of the President of the Republic of Finland

On Tuesday 13 November, President Halonen gave a speech at the high-level seminar hosted by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions in Dublin. The seminar discussed challenges of globalisation for the EU labour market and social dialogue.

In her speech, President Halonen emphasised the excellent potential of the European Union and its Member States for influencing the direction of globalization. The real question is how to develop a fairer globalization. According to President Halonen, we must, above all, aim for coherence both at the national level and the international level.

Quality of education a key competitiveness factor

According to President Halonen, Finland’s experiences have shown that the basic elements of the welfare society are also they key to international success. “We support an open and dynamic market economy, but our system is based on a strong sense of social justice”. As the dynamics of the international division of labour shift, it is the quality of training that becomes a crucial competitiveness factor. “This applies not only to elderly employees but to young people too. Their training will become outdated far more quickly than was the case for us members of earlier generations”, President Halonen said.

President Halonen and Prime Minister of Ireland Bertie Ahern in Dublin. Copyright © Office of the President of the Republic of Finland

President Halonen also referred to the Nordic labour market model, which involves close co-operation of the central organizations of employers and employees with the government. “The role of the social partners in this highly demanding situation created by globalization is crucially important. Cooperation with the social partners is a challenging task, and that includes for the social partners themselves. These organizations, too, are required to modernize and find new and creative ways of thinking”.

The seminar was attended by political leaders and social partner representatives from Finland and Ireland, along with EU policymakers. President Halonen was accompanied on the visit to Ireland by representatives of Finland's central labour market organizations.

The state visit programme also included a luncheon hosted by the University College Dublin (UCD) and a trip to the Boyne Valley outside Dublin.

President Halonen returned to Finland directly from Ireland on 14 November, not as previously announced. The planned visit to New York 14-17 November was cancelled owing to the situation caused by the possible industrial action by the health and social care professionals and the legislative process of the bill on patient safety.

Keynote address at the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions

Speech by President Halonen at the Government luncheon

Speech by President Halonen at the State Dinner