EU membership 'vital' for investment

IRELAND’S INVOLVEMENT in the European Union is “vital” for attracting investment from overseas, the president of the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland said.

Speaking in Dublin yesterday, Peter O’Neill said the country’s full membership of the EU was of “strategic interest” for US firms seeking to invest here.

“Ireland is an attractive location for US investment for a host of reasons and when this is underpinned by our close relationship with Europe it benefits both Ireland and Europe as a whole,” he said.

Ireland accounts for one-sixth of foreign direct investment made by US companies into Europe. Large technology multinationals such as Intel, HP, Google and IBM have all located here, while major health sciences firms including Pfizer, Medtronic and Abbott have also set up operations.

“This investment has proven critical to the very survival of our country in the current crisis,” he said.

“Over 1,000 new jobs were announced by US companies in Ireland since the beginning of the year. These jobs might not have been created here if Ireland was outside the European Union.”

However, he said it was important that confidence in Europe was restored following the crisis that had exposed weaknesses in the regulatory system.

“For Ireland to remain as attractive a location, international confidence in the European Union needs to be maintained and that can only occur by instigating structural changes at EU level,” he said.

A recent report from the American Chamber of Commerce said investment from the US in Ireland has grown five fold in the past 10 years, and is now worth $190 billion – more than the US has invested in the four BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) nations combined. It accounts for about a quarter of Ireland’s gross domestic product.