Domestic economy starting to deliver at last

THE contribution of foreign direct investment to the Irish economy has been enormous.

However, with over two million employed in the economy the importance of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is becoming significantly less critical.

Subtle indications of how government thinking is changing on industrial policy can be deciphered from the presence earlier this week of Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin, at the publication of Enterprise Ireland’s (EI) 2005 annual report, which highlighted that this government believes the indigenous sector has to have a more central role in this economy’s long term future.