I move:
That Seanad Éireann notes the need to maintain a continuous "Buy Guaranteed Irish" campaign as an important part of national economic policy.
I am very pleased and privileged to be able to address the House on this most important question of the campaign to promote the notion of guaranteed Irish products. From the terms of the motion it can be seen that I consider this an essential plank in our national economic policy.
I might be forgiven for opening with what might appear to be a trivial aspect of it; it might bring home the issue. I was pleased to be invited to luncheon yesterday when there were present some visiting dignitaries interested in EEC matters. Needless to say, I enjoyed the occasion and the discussion but when it came to the part of the meal where one is asked what one would like, the waiter whispered gently "A brandy or a liqueur, sir?" I wonder what it is in our make-up that a phrase like "Irish Mist, a brandy or a liqueur, sir?" could not come naturally to our hoteliers or those who work in that area. There is something psychological in our make-up that seems to act as an obstacle, to blank us out and make us possibly a little careless. Maybe it is just carelessness and nothing else. Carelessness costs jobs and means the non-implementation of declared national policy. When that happens we have to draw attention to it.
I would like to boast that I had, in fact, arranged that the front page of the management journal which is published today would be devoted to the "Guaranteed Irish" campaign. I did not orchestrate that; it was a happenstance but I am delighted that it happened. When it comes to influencing consumer behaviour, and that is what we are doing, we are not trying to build a policy that is based on patriotism only. We are trying to influence consumer behaviour so that the Irish consumer becomes aware that there are benefits in Irish products and that he should keep them in mind when he is making a purchase. The definition of marketing commonly used could be summarised this way: it is to discover and satisfy the present and potential needs of a target consumer. Normally in any marketing situation we use the so-called marketing mix, the four ps, to do this: product, price, place and promotion.
It is national policy, and funds have been made available, to operate in two of those areas under product and promotion and this is now part of a three-year plan for this purpose. I hope to elaborate a little on some ideas around the three-year plan. There is at this time a comprehensive attack on the total marketing approach to encouraging the purchase of guaranteed Irish products. On the promotion side, advertising and sales are the main arms and they are used to create the desire in the consumer to buy the product. The question we have to ask ourselves through this debate is: how do we promote Irish products as a category in themselves? Products can be categorised in other ways. For instance, there are speciality goods, convenience goods and shopping goods. Each one of these in a marketing sense is pushed or promoted in a different way. In some instances the purchaser makes an instant purchase: an example of that would be cigarettes. There is a minimum shopping effort involved in it, so it is an intuitive, habit-type purchase.
In other areas there is an attempt made to compare quality and style. There is more effort in the shopping. In the promotion of these shopping products there may be a little bit more time to influence the purchaser. Then we have the speciality goods which generally have the unique characteristic. An example would be something like a hi-fi set and people would spend a bit of time working out specifications, examining it and so on. There is plenty of time for the consumer to consider the way he will spend his money. The motivation to buy might be thought about in terms of two headings, the rational aspect and the emotional aspect. The rational aspect might be that the consumers would look at the economics of the purchase, whether they can afford it and what is in it for them in economic terms. There might be considerations about the efficiency of the product in terms of use of energy or use of effort, considerations about dependability, durability, convenience and, if it is to be used for another purpose, there might be aspects relating to profit. These are the rational dimensions that we would be interested in influencing.
On the other hand, a lot of these purchases are made on an emotional basis and these might be looked at under the headings of imitation, individuality and the promotion of individuality in that the person has a product that someone else has not got. There might be the opposite, that is, conformity, something about meeting an individual's ambition to reach a certain level in relation to a product. It might be something like the size of a car, something of pride in the product, something about prestige and pleasure. All of these things have an emotional basis and obviously they will influence the purchasing pattern.
Given that the campaign is about a total marketing approach, spelling out the good thing in Irish products emphasised by the G sign, guaranteed Irish, what other basis as a nation do we have to promote and to justify expenditure in this area and to justify the fact that it is necessary for institutions, such as this House, to put their voice before the Irish people as a means of helping this campaign? Let us look at the economic basis. In the motion we see as an essential step in economic policy. The figures have been mentioned before but let us repeat them and get them into perspective. We are looking for a 3 per cent turnabout in spending from the import side. A 3 per cent turnabout through various calculations — we can play around with the figures — is predicted to contribute to the production of 10,000 new jobs. It is important that the casual element, which is the 3 per cent turnabout, and the output which the employment achieved, should be highlighted this way even though the dimensions that go in between, the expansion in manufacturing, the greater promotion of Irish products, must happen in order to bring about the new jobs. More about that in a moment.
The White Paper talks about imports going up at 13.3 per cent per annum and about manufacturing industry expanding at 12 per cent per annum. If the Guaranteed Irish Campaign can bring that manufacturing industry output from 12 to 12.8 per cent, something of that order, then we will get that 3 per cent turnabout effectively and the 10,000 jobs will be there. I do not want to bore the House with too many figures but it is important for the purpose of the debate to consider the general dimensions of the economic situation.
We are a very open economy. We have a lot of exports and we have a lot of imports. In 1976 our imports were £2,300 million and our exports £1,860 million, which meant an excess of imports over exports of £478 million. We are talking here about something of the order of £500 million. It was £478 million in 1976. Imports were £2,300 million. Out of the £2,300 million something like £620 million was made up of consumption goods ready for immediate use. That, on £2,300 million, is quite a penetration. The figure has gone from something like 21 per cent to 31 per cent since 1973. It is growing. The most recent figures I have for the 12 months to March are imports £3,160 million as opposed to £2,650 million in exports, which means an excess of imports over exports of £510 million. The comparative figure for 1977 was £540 million. That is the first sign that the campaign is beginning to bite. Congratulations are due to all concerned for this, because some of the campaigns in the past have not been that successful, to say the least of it.
We are talking again of the order of £600 million consumption goods ready for use, but we must take into account the fact that about £250 million worth of industrial products are also involved. These might be produced at home if people were aware of the situation. It is not a case of not being able, it is a case of being aware. Take some of the sectors in industry and look at what is happening there. I hope that subsequent speakers will elaborate on these. I know some to whom I have spoken will.
Since 1970 the percentage as far as food is concerned in terms of imports has gone from 5 to 8 per cent, in textiles from 33 to 55 per cent and in clothing and footwear, taking the figures combined, from 6 per cent to 44 per cent. What we are talking about here is not just a matter of getting Irish people to buy Irish goods. It is about getting Irish manufacturers to defend their market share. It is a total marketing effort influenced obviously by the behaviour of the consumer and the knowledge that he or she has about Irish goods and the quality of those goods.
The £600 million worth of imported goods ready for consumption means something of the order of 50,000 jobs. Obviously we cannot completely turn that around where we are trying to promote open competition within the EEC context. But we are asking, and it is a plank in our economic policy, that we should get 10,000 out of that 50,000. That will come from the 3 per cent turnabout. It is significant that the products most susceptible to competing imports have given rise to most of the unemployment in the past. Between 1973 and 1976 something like 13,000 jobs were lost in this most susceptible sector.
As far as the industrial type products are concerned lack of an Irish equivalent seems to come about from ignorance of the requirement, ignorance of the need and also ignorance of the fact that the capacity to produce them is available. I am glad to see that as part of the programme of the Guaranteed Irish Campaign a sub-contract type service is now in existence to promote this knowledge. It has been adverted to in the media over the last few weeks. Those are the economic facts—10,000 jobs, a 3 per cent turn-around in purchasing behaviour and in manufacturing behaviour. Remember, it is just as important to push the product out of the manufacturing system as it is to pull it through the retail system. Those 10,000 jobs could mean everything in terms of achieving our goals and reaching our targets. We were clear about this in our manifesto. We were clear about this from away back when the preparation work for that manifesto was under way.
What is the trend? I have mentioned one or two good things. I mentioned that the excess for 1978 had come down to £510 million as opposed to £540 in 1977. Given the fact that we still have an element of inflation— 8, 9, 10 per cent averaged over the period — that is a significant improvement. I note from the statistics circulated that between March 1977 and March 1978 food imports have fallen from £30 million in 1977 to £25 million in 1978. That is a good trend and all we can hope is that it will be maintained. We can attribute this to the success so far of the Guaranteed Irish Campaign. In the case of manufactured goods, between March 1977 and March 1978 the figure has gone from 5.4 million to 5.48 in terms of volume. In money terms it is about the same. In footwear it has gone from 2.7 up to 3.1. I must admit that, looking at it, I would have thought it might have been worse, and I am sure that some of my colleagues who are deeply interested in that area will point out some of the difficulties.
The totals for March 1977 and March 1978, and I should remind you that I am talking about the month, went from 280 in 1977 to 285 in 1978. In real terms that is a very satisfactory volume improvement. Given that we know from what is published by the Irish Goods Council that we are talking about 800 manufacturers who have been gearing themselves to take on the competition, might I ask then which areas are worth pushing? To get a feel for the figures, we import roughly £15 million worth of wines and spirits—every time a Senator has his jar he might think about it — garments £42 million; underwear, which is hidden, £13 million; toys £10 million and various plastic items £21 million. I have here a plastic holder. It contained documents handed out by the IDA in a recent description of their planning campaign. The print folder reads: "Made in England." I am not knocking anything. I am saying this is just carelessness. It is an attitude of mind which must be fought in the "Guaranteed Irish" Campaign. It is an attitude that forgets we produce "Irish Mist" and sell it at international level but we push brandy. It is the attitude of mind which thinks any old folder will do. Any old folder will not do because we have to give good example. In particular State bodies have to give good example. In Croke Park last Sunday I saw beautiful Irish flags: Where were they made? In a very, very far eastern country, not at home.
The "Guaranteed Irish" Campaign is a very exciting concept. It is exciting because it relates to the real needs of the purchaser. It is not built on a narrow chauvinistic appeal. It tries to bring home to the purchaser that there are good reasons for buying guaranteed Irish and, of course, it emphasises that there are good emotional reasons. We all have emotional needs which influence our purchasing patterns. It is a three-year programme clearly spelt out in a circular from the Irish Goods Council.
It is important in any marketing campaign, as any advertising agent will tell you, not to peak too quickly. We do not want to have a great flurry of guaranteed Irish excitement and behaviour in the first six months and after that a tailing-off. This exercise should build up to a consistent new purchasing pattern in Irish consumers. The Government have made the funds available. This is not to say that the previous Minister did not have an important hand in these concepts and in getting the ideas off the ground, but the figure in the budget at that time was something like £227,000. It is now running at £680,000. That is a measure of the importance the Fianna Fáil Party put on this as an essential plank in economic policy. Hopefully, in the coming years the budget will get up to the £1 million mark. Not only will that be a measure of the amount of promotion available but the money can be used to pump prime other money. It is hoped that another £250,000 might be squeezed out of the grocers, and so on, to issue leaflets and promotional merchandising material and ensure the campaign is well and truly exposed to the consuming public.
One may ask what is happening in other countries given that we are trying to promote free and open competition. Take the UK, for instance. In the UK they had the "I'm Backing Britain Campaign". They had Chancellor Healey saying recently in his budget speech "Buy best, buy British". We had the Financial Times yesterday publishing an article about the bad condition of industrial relations in this country. I cannot help but think that their own industrial promotion is in some way influencing that particular line of thought. Their employment subsidy, in operation for a couple of years now, has been a real thorn in our side.
We have, too, the so-called bureaucratic barriers that can be built up in all countries making it difficult for products to be imported. Specifications can be renewed every day. I heard recently that in the case of Canada, because the £ sign was missing, even though a statement on the particular form said "sterling, so many thousand" it was sent back as being incomplete. We could get to the stage where people would say: "If you are going to import tomatoes into this country they must not have more than 31 pips". That is as good a way of promoting their own product as any other, not to talk about the volume of paper work that comes up.
The question now is how can we improve this campaign, which means so much, for instance, to the youth with something like 43 per cent of people under 25 years of age out of work as compared with something like the EEC. These are the conditions we are up against. How can we improve them? The first step is to avoid carelessness. Be aware! Look before you buy. It does not mean any chauvinistic attachment to the Irish situation but to make sure that you are giving the Irish product a run for its money.
In this country something like 5,000,000 purchases are made per week. I reckon that about 1.5 million are purchases of foreign goods. The question that the Irish purchaser has to ask himself is: Am I one of the 1,500 purchasers giving away a job this week? On average 100 purchasers are throwing out three jobs every year. Would it be possible for each family to appoint one person, possibly the youngest member, to ask at home "What have we done for the ‘Guaranteed Irish' Campaign this week?" These are just some ideas.
To conclude, I would suggest that we need to identify the Irish product where that product exists. We need an instant response now and that is the great value of the "Guaranteed Irish" Campaign. Everybody can do something now. It is not a question of waiting for a long term policy, they can do something now and one way of bringing it home and avoiding the carelessness might be for each purchaser to say or to think of people who are unemployed, children who might not get employment or relatives who are unemployed, when they make a purchase. I would suggest that "G" as well as standing for "guaranteed Irish" would also stand for guilt. Let nobody be guilty of not contributing to this most important national campaign.