In the last ten years, Ireland has seen a tremendous economic transition, surging ahead to eleventh place in the list of the world's most competitive economies. Between 1993 and 1997 alone its economy grew by 40%. Now, Ireland's "Celtic Tiger" economy is turning to workers in Britain to support its growth, and finding them has become a top priority for businesses and the national government alike.
Ireland is undoubtedly the European success story of the 1990's. It has become a hub for technology companies and is the world's second largest software exporter, due in part to an attractive business recruiting policy with tax incentives. In fact it now has most, if not all, the right conditions necessary for businesses to thrive, including a strong domestic economy, a supportive government, finance, internationalizaton, infrastructure, science and technology.
In tandem with the economic growth, so employment growth has been remarkably strong, with unemployment now lying well below the EU average at 4.7%, its lowest level for 18 years. This marks a complete turnaround from the age-old picture of people leaving not by choice, but by economic necessity - a trend which continued right up until the 1980's when more than 200,000 people left Ireland.
Today, however, the country's increasing economic prosperity is seeing both the return of emigres in their droves and, most significantly, a great upsurge in the number of British workers lured to the Emerald Isle to fill the jobs which Ireland is unable to fill from its own limited resources. David McKenna, chief executive of the Marlboro recruitment agency said 'The days when Ireland was a great feeder to all the countries throughout Europe and the world are long gone. Recruitment companies are going to these countries to bring back Irish expatriates and others to work in Ireland'.
The nation's Training and Employment Authority (FAS) has now embarked on a mission to fill 200,000 jobs in Ireland over the next six years, and last week used the London Olympia job fair to try and recruit workers for all sectors of the economy. More than 40 Irish employers and staffing agencies attended the fair to promote job opportunities in a whole range of industries including accoutancy, technology, electronics, pharmaceuticals, nursing, construction and hospitality. The need to recruit workers from abroad is such that FAS has turned away from its traditional focus of assisting the unemployed towards its new goal of bringing a large contingent of foreign workers to Ireland.
Some economists are predicting that Ireland vulnerable to inflation, but for the moment at least, the Celtic Tiger is alive and well, with inward migration of workers and rapid productivity gains preventing capacity shortages and allowing above-trend growth to continue.
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