Economy of Ireland
Economy of Ireland
I. Introduction
The economy of Ireland has transformed in recent years from an agricultural focus to a modern knowledge economy, focusing on services and high-tech industries and dependent on trade, industry and investment. Since the mid 1990's, Ireland has experienced consistent growth rates of up to 10% per annum. This has been attributed to years of strong government planning through the implementation of five-year National Development Plans. These plans provided for large-scale investment in infrastructural projects and the focused development of Ireland as a base for multinational export-oriented companies. Ireland was transformed from one of the poorest countries in Western Europe to one of the wealthiest. Disposable income soared to record levels, enabling a huge rise in consumer spending. A study by The Economist found Ireland to have the best quality of life in the world. The 1995 to 2000 period of high economic growth led many to call the country the “Celtic Tiger”.
By mid-2007 in the wake of the growing global financial crisis the Tiger had all but died. In early January 2009, the Irish Times in an editorial declared that: We have gone from the Celtic Tiger to an era of financial fear with the suddenness of a Titanic-style shipwreck, thrown from comfort, even luxury, into a cold sea of uncertainty. Ireland was the first EU economy to enter recession in 2008. The reasons for the Irish recession are similar to the UK. The Irish economy is closely tied to the US economy. The US gave over 33% of inward investment into Irish manfacturing. The recession in US is likely to caused a knock on effect in Ireland. There is many other reasons like collapse in the housing boom, decline in construction, banking sector in turmoil, falling consumer spending and decline global demand. Former Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald has blamed Ireland's dire economic state in 2009 on a series of "calamitous" government policy errors.
The global economic crisis has
I. Introduction
The economy of Ireland has transformed in recent years from an agricultural focus to a modern knowledge economy, focusing on services and high-tech industries and dependent on trade, industry and investment. Since the mid 1990's, Ireland has experienced consistent growth rates of up to 10% per annum. This has been attributed to years of strong government planning through the implementation of five-year National Development Plans. These plans provided for large-scale investment in infrastructural projects and the focused development of Ireland as a base for multinational export-oriented companies. Ireland was transformed from one of the poorest countries in Western Europe to one of the wealthiest. Disposable income soared to record levels, enabling a huge rise in consumer spending. A study by The Economist found Ireland to have the best quality of life in the world. The 1995 to 2000 period of high economic growth led many to call the country the “Celtic Tiger”.
By mid-2007 in the wake of the growing global financial crisis the Tiger had all but died. In early January 2009, the Irish Times in an editorial declared that: We have gone from the Celtic Tiger to an era of financial fear with the suddenness of a Titanic-style shipwreck, thrown from comfort, even luxury, into a cold sea of uncertainty. Ireland was the first EU economy to enter recession in 2008. The reasons for the Irish recession are similar to the UK. The Irish economy is closely tied to the US economy. The US gave over 33% of inward investment into Irish manfacturing. The recession in US is likely to caused a knock on effect in Ireland. There is many other reasons like collapse in the housing boom, decline in construction, banking sector in turmoil, falling consumer spending and decline global demand. Former Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald has blamed Ireland's dire economic state in 2009 on a series of "calamitous" government policy errors.
The global economic crisis has