Ahern calls on ex-patriates to set up business in Ireland

Bertie Ahern is urging expatriates who have built successful careers in the US to return and start businesses in Ireland to help sustain its strong economic growth.

That growth has been generated partly by the $55 billion (€45 billion) invested in Ireland by large US companies such as Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Intel.

During a trip to New York, Mr Ahern said that to help Ireland combat mounting competition from countries such as India and Singapore it was also important to foster the "next generation of Irish industry".

Ireland has one of the highest levels of new business formations in Europe and last year more than 15 per cent of start-ups were established by returning emigrants. "These companies are the future for Ireland and investment in these leading edge product and service firms is being made by investors in Ireland and overseas," Mr Ahern said in an interview with the Financial Times.

The Taoiseach said he would "strongly encourage" ex-pats to return to Ireland to take advantage of the "new business landscape". But he stressed that the success of the Irish economy was a two-way street, pointing out that there were now 270 Irish companies operating in the US, employing more than 50,000, a fivefold increase since 1997.

To coincide with his trip, a number of Irish companies announced US contracts worth more than $85 million. These included a $12 million software sale by Information Mosaic to Brown Brothers Harriman, to support the New York bank's move into financial back office outsourcing. Norkom Technologies, a Dublin-based financial software company, announced a deal with Standard Chartered, the international banking group, for its anti-money laundering software.

Ireland's exports have grown at an average of 9 per cent a year over the past decade, the highest growth of any developed country. Last year, exports to the US reached $27 billion, double the level in 1999, putting it ahead of Brazil, Israel, India and Spain.

Mr Ahern said the presence of so many large US companies in Ireland had "taught us the virtues of American enterprise and management style" which made the US a natural market for Irish companies.