Yesterday, we had the pleasure of meeting with Mr. Bowe from IDA. The IDA is the Industrial Development Authority. The IDA tries to attract foreign investors and businesses to come to Ireland. After hearing the presentation, I found the following “Pros” and “Cons” of this proposal.
Pros
- Workforce that is young, educated and diverse
- Lots of land for future expansion
- English speaking
- Conveniently placed between the US and Europe
- Low corporate tax rate (12.5%)
- Tech hub
Cons
- High income tax
- Brexit
- Real estate/Housing prices are high
- Young Economy
- Boring weather
- Not many employees
After considering the Pros and Cons, I think the investing decision is extremely dependent on the type of business it is. If it is a tech company, trying to gain more of an international presence and possibly put a HQ here, I would consider it a good idea to invest. However, if a production factory wanted to move here, I don’t think it would be smart because of the lack of demand and poor logistics for production.
Either way, one concern that will remain relevant and cause uncertainty is brexit. There are too many unknowns with brexit and how it will effect both Ireland and the rest of the world. Regardless of the type of business that is looking to come here, brexit will be a factor to keep in mind, good or bad.