Ireland is Europe’s ‘comeback king’

Ireland’s reign as the destination of choice for foreign direct investment is coming to an end, according to Enterprise Ireland CEO Frank Ryan, who believes the country’s new reputation will be as the comeback king of Europe.

“Indigenous industry is going to carry much more of the weight of growing the economy than it has in the past and we are going to be the comeback kings of Europe,” Mr Ryan said.

Mr Ryan said he agreed with the assessment of former Intel chief executive Craig Barrett, who this week said Ireland would no longer be capable of attracting the historic levels of foreign direct investment.

Mr Ryan said that Ireland was going to have to transition from being a destination for foreign direct investment to having a large and vibrant indigenous business eco-system.

“The thrust of what Dr Barrett is saying, I would say, is correct. For Ireland to be economically competitive for the next 20 years, we need to maintain our high level of market share in terms of foreign direct investment and we have to have continued growth in relation to indigenous companies,” Mr Ryan said.

Ireland has already made progress towards taking the country away from a model that is reliant on foreign direct investment only.

Mr Ryan said Ireland has learned from its experience as a base for multinationals. The country is more sophisticated and is capable of offering products and services to challenge the world’s leading nations, he said.

Mr Ryan said: “I fundamentally believe that Ireland is the comeback economy of Europe and you will see us coming out of this recession much faster than people expect because of our competence, we have more Irish companies exporting than ever, we have more companies involved inresearch and development than ever.

“We have more Irishmen and women capable of doing business on a world scale than ever. That augurs very well as a foundation for future growth.”