Since it exited from an emergency bailout from the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and began its rapid recovery, Ireland has enjoyed star-performer status in Europe. Ireland’s GDP grew by 6.7% in 2018, making it the region’s fastest-growing economy for the fifth consecutive year. Simultaneously, according to the EY Attractiveness Survey Europe, foreign direct investment (FDI) in Ireland has been reborn, leaping a remarkable 52% compared to 2017 while the EU suffered an overall decline.
Of the 265 new investment projects announced in Ireland last year, 134 featured first-time investors – the highest total in a single year, according to IDA Ireland. ‘The challenge now,’ says the IDA, ‘is to make sure the FDI portfolio grows further’. This is some challenge given the headwinds of Brexit and a broader economic slowdown. Although such external factors may ultimately derail their ambitions, Irish law firms have been making good while they can.
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