Foreign investment can rebuild our base

BACK in the mid-1950s the then government, not Fianna Fáil, targeted foreign direct investment (FDI) as a core part of our future economic strategy to help move us away from our very heavy dependence on agriculture.

Farming was the mainstay of the economy, apart from a smattering of local industries engaged in activities such as clothing and footwear manufacturing.

Those around at that time had enough foresight to see that we badly needed modern industry to help us become part of the evolving modern world. Without industry and sophisticated technology, we were destined to remain backwards.