Presidential visit can provide a new focus for recovery

THE potential for real and lasting good, social and economic, that stems from the announcement of US President Barack Obama's visit in May is inestimable.

The visit should be used as a focus to give this country a real lift.

His announcement, in the Oval Office alongside Taoiseach Enda Kenny, was made as yesterday's St Patrick's Day celebrations most graphically underlined one core element of the Ireland he will visit: despite the horrors of recesssion we retain an indomitable spirit.

Mr Obama will be not just a most welcome guest, given his Irish roots and the traditional strong links and bonds we have had with some of that country's leading figures.

On this occasion his visit will, in addition to that of Queen Elizabeth in the same month, afford us the opportunity to be viewed and portrayed in a positive light across the world.

These are rare opportunities to begin the process of fostering a much more positive image of our country abroad. And that is absolutely vital to our hopes of recovery.

We rely so much on foreign trade and investment that the imperative must be to use the occasions to maximum effect.

The global media, in hordes, will follow both high-profile figures. Particularly in the case of Mr Obama's visit, they will see, albeit briefly, what this country is like; but they may leave with a lasting impression that will colour perceptions on a broad scale.

For many it will come as an eye opener as they witness a country getting on with everyday life and business.

Yesterday was an exception. The country got on with the business of having a good time for a change. It was a day for setting aside the incessant financial and human worries that have dogged so many for so long.

But from the inner sanctum of the powerful White House to the green-clad streets of our smallest villages, there was a show of unity, a focus and a message. It was as if we took a moment in time to reassert ourselves.

Undoubtedly it was an important moment for Taoiseach Enda Kenny to spread the message that we are, however belatedly, striving hard to undo the damage inflicted on us by local and global mismanagement. It is a message he appears to have conveyed in strident tones. Ireland is open for business. And we need it badly.

Setting aside the good humour expressed in a wave of St Patrick's Day celebrations all over the world, it has been a daunting, frightening week for anyone prepared to look into the dark.

The number of people relying on state support to keep going because they do not have work, be it full or part time, is much higher than was previously thought.

The amount of money yet to be pumped in to keep the banks afloat is, on the face of it, going to take at least as much, if not more, than was earmarked for a worst-case scenario as part of the bailout.

And we await the results of the banks' stress tests under which it is forecast that even lower values will be ascribed to so many homes bought at the height of the property madness.

In addition we face tough decisions about prioritising where spending cuts fall and where taxes hit us again.

But at least there appears to be some momentum in these early days of the new Government, in sharp contrast to the pitiful lethargy and lack of leadership that marked so much of the previous Government's tenure.

These are important days in the life of the country. The national feast day provided a focus for celebration, permitting us to taste, however fleetingly, what a united nation can project on to the global stage of perception.

We shouldn't lose sight of that in the days, weeks, months and years ahead because there will be tough times and tough decisions that will impact heavily on all.

But at least we can now look forward to a few bright days in May when we can say to two highly important visitors: Céad Mile Fáilte.

Irish Independent