ISN'T IT RICH? - American Business Media

IRELANDCOMING UP FOR EIREWith some of the world's major players, such as Google, Facebook and a raft of other computerand tech companies opening headquarters in Dublin, there has been a significant uptick in thenumber of deals in the area – making it one of the few bright spots in a fairly bleak market.Anastasia Hancock reportsRobert O'Shea, Partner and Head ofthe International Business Group atMatheson Ormsby Prentice (MOP)AS EUROPE continues to labour its way through ongoingeconomic turmoil, it’s safe to say that Ireland hasn’t exactlyescaped its own share of financial hardship. The strength ofthe country’s banks has withered as they struggle to deal with theaftershocks of huge loans handed out to the property industry, abitter pill to swallow after the Celtic Tiger boom years that hadpreceded it.Public outcry followed governmental problems, and a debt ratingof junk status in the summer of 2011 compounded a lack ofconfidence in the system. Little surprise then, that investor confidencewas quick to fall.Ireland needed a hero – it wasn’t going to come in the shapeof the property industry, certainly, and the banking system did notoffer much optimism either. So when global giants in the technologysector publically stated that they would be upping theirinvestment in Ireland, it was hailed as the good news the countryhad been waiting for. Recent reports note that Facebook is preparingfor a significant expansion of its European headquarters inIreland, with a move to bigger offices purportedly in the offing.And with the world’s major industry players, such as Google,Hewlett-Packard, Intel and Microsoft already in residence, this sectoris increasingly appearing as a solid source of optimism.In fact, Ireland’s chequered economic history since the downturnhit is even working in its favour when it comes to luring inthe giants. US players, especially, cite excellent opportunities interms of office space as a big draw, and then there is Ireland's distinctivelylow corporation tax, which is notably lower than therates found elsewhere across Europe. However, while MyraGarrett, corporate technology partner and managing partner atWilliam Fry says that the allure of low corporate tax is strong, it isnot the ‘decisive factor’.Instead, key drivers behind Ireland’s success in attracting ICTcompanies to locate here is ‘our appropriately skilled labour force– particularly our pool of high quality engineering graduates. Twokey factors in Ireland’s proven track record as a location of excellencefor the technology industryare our young, well educated,English-speaking workforceand our geographic locationon the western gateway intoEurope from the US’ addsGarrett. She points out thatgovernment incentives and significanttax breaks for key areassuch as research and developmentare also very relevant.Net WorkingThe enticements introduced bythe government haveundoubtedly played a big partin the influx of multinationalcompanies, although it is, ofcourse, a virtuous circle.Companies were initially attracted by, among other factors, governmentsupport for investment and growth in the sector, such asthe government backed Science Foundation Ireland and Irish universitieswhich offered programmes and funding. This provedencouraging for both the home grown industry and foreign directinvestment. However, the trickle of new entrants quickly becamea flood, and the trend John Whelan, head of the IP andTechnology group at A&L Goodbody, dubs ‘the pulling power’ ofexisting multinational companies operating successfully in Irelandbegan in earnest. ‘The growth of the IT sector in Ireland has ledto support structures being put in place over the past decade leavingus ideally placed to become a global hub for cloud computingservices’ he explains.This, of course, has had a positive knock-on effect on Ireland’sown original tech industry, which has benefitted hugely from theincreasing international standards brought in by the global play- fundseuropeawardsEuropean Advisor2011 March 2012 | americanlawyer.com