THE IRISH ECONOMY: GREEN FOR GROWTH
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• With 6.5% growth this year the Irish Republic has the fastest growing economy in Europe. In the past five years it has grown twice as fast as that of other EU members, with Britain languishing at around 2.5%. A primary reason for this is Ireland's willingness to offer large tax concessions to new companies, both domestic and foreign.
New manufacturers and hi-tech service companies qualify for 10% corporation tax, compared with a standard rate of 38%. These concessions stay in place until 2010 for manufacturers and 2005 for service companies, who may then face slight increases. They can also plug into 100% training grants sourced from the EU by Ireland's Industrial Development Agency. As a result, Japanese and American firms eager for a gateway to Europe flock to Ireland.
There are 1,200 foreign firms in the Republic, 450 of these American, taking advantage of the country's young, computerliterate workforce. Unfortunately, at 12.5% of a 1.3m workforce, unemployment remains high. Ironically, this is partly due to expatriate Irish people returning to Ireland to benefit from its boom economy.