US president-elect Donald Trump is now the big “elephant in the room” for Irish foreign direct investment (FDI), a conference on global investment has heard.
Mr Trump’s protectionist agenda, which includes the prospect of tariffs on all US imports, posed a major risk to Ireland, Cróna Clohisey, director of public policy with Chartered Accountants Ireland (CAI), said.
“There’s been a lot of commentary about whether that’s going to be negative or positive for Ireland. I think you can look at it as both a threat and an opportunity,” she told an event jointly hosted by the accountancy body and IDA Ireland.
Ms Clohisey said Ireland had “an extremely attractive offering” in terms of one of the lowest tax rates in Europe and one of the most skilled workforces and “that doesn’t change because of Trump”.
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She said the result of the US elections could and should push policymakers here into remedying the State’s various infrastructural deficits at a faster pace.
“The significant deficits in the State’s crucial infrastructure, including housing, energy, water, childcare and nationwide public transport, need to be addressed with urgency if we are to remain fully competitive in the race for future FDI,” Ms Clohisey said.
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The conference heard that while Ireland’s FDI policy has been successful, a slowdown in growth of the global economy coupled with accelerated industrial policy interventions by competitor countries means “Ireland’s inward investment model is now at a crucial inflection point”.
IDA Ireland chairman Feargal O’Rourke said the secret to Ireland’s success to date has been remaining nimble and agile and recognising changing trends.
For a lot companies the risk of investing in Ireland was low because of “the track record” of previous investments which remained a distinct advantage.
CAI president Barry Doyle said while Mr Trump was a disrupter, Ireland represented a stable environment for investors.
“Competition has never been greater for the flow of FDI around the world, and with a new US administration taking office in a matter of weeks, there is an increased chance of disruption to the traditional flow of FDI globally,” he said.
“However, investors with a long-term, sustainable outlook will look beyond short-term protectionism. Ireland as a safe and stable environment will continue to benefit greatly from FDI and we as Chartered Accountants will be there to lead and support such investments,” Mr Doyle said.
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