Businesses achieved a lot last year but more to do

From pharma to social networks and from trade to tax, companies in Ireland last year experienced the good, the bad, and the ugly. Kyran Fitzgerald takes a look back at the big issues that firms were faced with over the last 12 months

Ireland is one of the most trade-dependent countries in the world and our exporters are seen as key agents in the country’s recovery strategy.

But on occasions, the figures have flattered to deceive. This really should be no surprise. Our economy was fuelled — indeed, rocket-fuelled — in the late nineties and early noughties by foreign direct investment, much of it tax driven.