February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Harry Keaney
A few years ago it would have been unimaginable: Ireland being praised for the management of its economy, and by no less an influential business organ than the Wall Street Journal.
Last Wednesday, in a gushing editorial, the Journal stated that no Europeans understand the salutary effects of supply-side economics better than the Irish.
“Thanks largely to corporate tax rates that start as low as 10 percent, Ireland has become a Mecca for investors, attracted by some of the most appealing corporate tax rates this side of Hong Kong,” stated the Journal.
“Once a backwater, Dublin is now a boomtown, with producers in and around the city making, for example, one-third of the personal computers sold on the continent. Another example: Ireland has absorbed more than 40 percent of the American investment in Europe’s electronic industry. The resulting economic growth – this year estimated to be as high as 10 percent – has catapulted Ireland into the ranks of Europe’s wealthiest nations. . . . Moreover, the return on equity of Ireland-based companies is four times the average on the continent . . .”
The editorial continued with its outpouring of praise for Ireland’s promotion of supply-side economics, concluding by saying that “the rest of Europe doesn’t enjoy the benefits of such enlightened economic leadership.”
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Meanwhile . . .
As the Wall Street Journal was waxing eloquently about Ireland’s economic performance, the Dublin-based Ireland on Sunday newspaper reported that the number of homeless people in the city has doubled during the last two years. A total of 1,250 people are officially being housed in temporary accommodation, often in dire conditions, while they languish on the housing list, according to the newspaper. And this does not include the number of people “sleeping rough” on city streets.
More jobs
A Texas-based contract manufacturing and engineering design company, Benchmark Electronics, is to set up a manufacturing operation in Dublin that will create 262 jobs within three years. Benchmark will set up its plant in Blanchardstown Business Park. It specializes in high-quality, technologically complex printed circuit board assemblies, and provides engineering design services to original equipment manufacturers. The industries it focuses on include medical devices, telecommunications, industrial and business computers, test instrumentation and industrial control.
Meanwhile, more than 1,000 new jobs could be created in a multi-million-pound financial services operation the IDA is bidding to bring to Ireland, the Irish Times reported. First USA, the third largest issuer of Visa and MasterCard credit cards in the U.S., is planning a new European credit card operation and is to locate all its customer support and administration services in one premises. Trade sources told the Times that the U.S. bank had narrowed its choices to Dublin or Cardiff.
Support for Celtic Vision
Celtic Vision, the national cable television network which features Celtic programming, has been officially endorsed by the AOH. Meeting at the Pittsburgh Hilton Hotel last month, the AOH encouraged its divisions to communicate their group and individual support of Celtic Vision to local cable operators. The majority of the network’s programming is from RTE, Ireland’s national television network.
Meanwhile, the Irish government is to demand that RTE provides a list of its top 20 earners and details of their salaries. The information sought would involve remuneration packages to RTE stars such as Gay Byrne, Pat Kenny, Gerry Ryan and Marian Finucane. Details of their salaries have been repeatedly but unsuccessfully sought by Irish government committees.
Aiming for the U.S.
An offspring of the highly successful Irish software company CBT is to mount an assault on the lucrative U.S. school computer programs market, according to the Irish Times newspaper. The company, Riverdeep, based in Dublin, expects to increase its staff to more than 135 during the next two years, and is aiming for a flotation on the NASDAQ, according to the Times.
Meanwhile, pharmaceutical company Elan has reported an increase of more than 50 percent in pretax profits to $60.3 million.
No layoffs
T_naiste Mary Harney has launched Enterprise Ireland, a new state agency that brings together the Irish Trade Board, Forbairt and parts of FAS, a recruitment and training agency. She has urged the staff to negotiate with management on a simplified grading structure.
Enterprise Ireland, which will have about 1,200 employees, now has more than 40 different grades. However, Harney reiterated that there would be no “forced” layoffs as a result of the merger.
Concrete evidence
Construction, long a favorite industry of the Irish, is experiencing boom times in the U.S. In fact, so buoyant is business that cement makers are operating at or near capacity, with some saying there will be shortages of cement later this year. Many commentators view the construction industry as an extremely good barometer of the health of the economy. The U.S. annually imports about 15 percent of its cement — the main ingredient in concrete.