For decades, Ireland has pursued a clear strategy of being a
business-friendly location for foreign direct investment, writes
Mark O'Sullivan.
Ireland's early FDI strategy was to attract companies in the
manufacturing sector to use the country as a platform to export
manufactured goods into Europe. However, since Ireland's cost
base increased in the mid-90s, the focus has increasingly been on
sectors creating positions higher up the value chain.
In more recent years, FDI has been flowing into sophisticated
sectors including technology, pharmaceuticals and medical devices,
and financial services. Foreign investment is now the main driver
behind Ireland's economic recovery. The 2008 financial crisis
ultimately served to increase Ireland's competitiveness and to
renew its focus on being, as our Taoiseach so often puts it,
"the best small country in the world in which to do
business."
