President of Ireland pays
visit to Seattle on trade
mission
By Martina Law
February 2006
The Republic of Ireland is a
member of numerous
international organizations,
including the United Nations
and the European Union. For
centuries the country was
known as a rural backwater
with no industrial base. Its
economy languished in the
early 80s and became stagnant
in 1986.
But just over the course of a
few decades, Ireland has risen
to be one of the world’s most
successful high-tech
economies. From 1996-2002
Ireland was the
fastest-growing economy in the
Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development
(OECD). Although the 2003
world economic slowdown
affected Ireland, and slowed
down its GDP growth, its
overall economic outlook
continues to improve. Ireland
has unleashed its “Celtic
Tiger.”
Last month, the Irish
President Mary McAleese
visited Seattle on a trade
mission to promote her
country. The trade mission
particularly focused on
Aerospace, Enterprise
computing, and Telecoms.
The European Weekly had a
chance to talk to Marina
Donohoe, the Executive Vice
President, and Director of
Americas for Enterprise
Ireland, who accompanied the
Irish president on her mission
to Seattle.
“There is a number of factors
that contributed to the fact
that our economy has been
doing so well over the years,”
Donohoe explains when asked
what did ignite Ireland’s
economic growth. “If you look
at Ireland many years ago, it
was an Ireland based on
agriculture. Very quickly we
realized that this was not
going to result in prosperity
of all Irish citizens. We
started a number of high-level
government interventions. We
firstly invested in our
people. We invested in our
education system to really
produce the output of
graduates that could go into
industry, science, research,
and technology.”
US investment has been
important to the growth and
modernization of the Irish
industry over the past 25
years. “We have been very
fortunate in attracting US
companies such as Microsoft,
IBM, Intel, and DELL, to name
a few,” Donohoe says. Then she
goes on, “US investment has
also had an indirect effect on
Ireland. It has provided great
opportunities for Irish people
to work in US companies in
Ireland, and to learn skills
and competencies that they may
not have learned with an Irish
company. Many of those people
have gone on to set up their
own companies or have gone on
to work with an Irish
indigenous base.”
The US is Ireland’s
second-largest export
destination, second only to
the UK. Donohoe tells the
European Weekly that just last
year alone, the US imported 27
billion dollars worth of goods
and services from Ireland. A
few of the export industries
are engineering and components
in the industrial area, and
computer software in the
technological area.
In regards to import
industries, Donohoe points out
consumer goods. “The Irish
consumer is very interested in
buying American brands and
products,” she says.
When speaking specifically
about trade between Washington
State and Ireland, Donohoe
states, “On our side, trade
between Washington State and
Ireland is a growing
partnership. We do not have
any Irish companies with
offices in Seattle or in
Washington State right now,
but we expect that to change
by the end of this year. This
trade mission is very
important to us in helping to
build those business
relationships with local
Washington State companies.”
One of the most successful
relationships of Ireland has
been with Microsoft.
“Microsoft that is one of your
largest companies is one of
Ireland’s largest US
investors,” Donohoe explains.
“And this year, Microsoft is
celebrating its 20th
year in Ireland.”
Donohoe is hopeful to form
stronger partnerships with a
number of other local
companies, such as Boeing.
“[At an event in Seattle
hosted by Enterprise Ireland]
the Irish president addressed
a group of senior executives
from Boeing and other local
companies in this area. We are
very keen to develop strong
partnerships that are mutually
beneficial for both Ireland
and Washington State.”
The European Weekly wanted to
know why local companies
should invest in Ireland?
“They should invest in Ireland
because it’s a very favorable
tax environment, it’s an
English speaking country, and
we have a very skilled word
force in terms of technical
skills, research skills, and
science skills,” she replies.
“And it’s a gateway to
Europe.”
Donohoe also talks about the
importance to reach out to the
Irish and American community
in the Seattle area. “We want
to advise them of the changing
[economic] landscape in
Ireland. We want to advise
them of the opportunity for
them if they were to explore
moving back to Ireland or
working in Ireland.”
Interestingly enough, Ireland
has changed from initially
being an emigration country
into an immigration country.
“These people are moving to
Ireland from all corners of
the world, including the
United States. For instance,
for the first time in our
history, there are more
business visa issued to US
people working in Ireland than
they have been for Irish
people looking for work in the
US,” she says.
Donohoe explains that the
trade mission to Seattle “is
the largest trade mission of
its kind in the US, the
largest to the Seattle area.”
And she adds, “We are very
excited about the potential.”
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