Mike Bloomberg said Ireland is writing a new chapter as the US worries about growth

Former New York mayor called Brexit the "single stupidest thing any country has ever done”.

Mike Bloomberg speaking at the Future of Finance in Ireland event in Dublin.

The former mayor of New York City and owner of the financial services firm Bloomberg, Mike Bloomberg said Ireland is “writing a new chapter in its history” as the economy here continues to grow while America is now “the one that’s worried about growth”.

Speaking at a Bloomberg event in Dublin, the former US Presidential candidate praised the workforce and employee skills available in Ireland, which makes it so attractive for businesses to invest here, while at the same time criticising US President Donald Trump and the actions taken by his administration.

"Ireland is now writing a new chapter in its history, and the roles are being increasingly reversed. Ireland is the one that's growing, and America is the one that's worried about growth. Bloomberg certainly is glad to be one of the investors here,” he said.

"America is in a difficult situation in terms of politics and our international relations, and it's not clear how everybody works themselves out of it.

“America has just spent the last 70 years trying to build relationships with other countries. We benefit, and those other countries all benefit, and here we're throwing away a lot of that, which I can't explain.” Mr Bloomberg took repeated shots at US President Donald Trump, saying he has known him for decades in New York and pointing to the numerous times Mr Trump has declared bankruptcy.

Bloomberg currently employs 150 people in its Dublin offices, and they are looking to recruit 25 more.

“We are hardly alone. Since 2015, the number of finance jobs here has increased by about 50% to more than 52,000 jobs across the country, while 20 of the top 25 financial service companies have hubs here now. So it really is growing,” Mr Bloomberg said.

He also said Ireland has benefited massively in this area due to Brexit, which he called “the single stupidest thing any country has ever done”.

Speaking at the event in Dublin, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe was asked about the growing conflict in the Middle East, as well as the escalating global trade tensions and what they could mean for Ireland.

He said that from an Irish point of view, the country cannot influence “what's going to happen with global trade” but “we can influence how competitive our economy is and the investment decisions that we make”.

He cited an analysis by the Department of Finance conducted which found that up to 75,000 jobs may not be created over the medium term as a result of tariffs “with 20,000 to 25,000 of those affected across next year”.

"From a growth perspective, there could be one to one 1.5 points of growth that we can lose across the medium term,” he said.

Mr Donohoe said that should the growth outlook for the economy change further, “I will make every effort possible to protect and prioritise capital investment”.

“One of my deep lessons from the aftermath of the global financial crisis is when capital investment is decreased, the costs mount up in the future,” he said.

"If our growth outlook does change, we will use our fiscal position to try to maintain and support capital investment and do all we can to avoid cutting it back again. Having the ability to do that, which Ireland has rarely had, is the very reason we're trying to run budget surpluses at the moment,” he said.