Ireland's economic conduct wins praise

Ireland's economic performance has won numerous plaudits in Davos but there are few Irish among the elites gathered in the snow-covered Swiss town. The Tánaiste, Ms Harney, and Mr Pat Cox, the President of the European Parliament, were the only serving Irish politicians to participate in the World Economic Forum.

The former president and UN human rights chief, Ms Mary Robinson, was in Davos in her new role as executive director of the New York-based Ethical Globalisation Initiative.

A unique gathering of the world's leading figures in business and politics, the forum has created a figure known as "Davos Man" who straddles the economic and political worlds and networks at a level where the oxygen is thin. Nobody fits this description better than Mr Peter Sutherland, Ireland's former EU Commissioner and now chairman of Goldman Sachs in Europe.

One of the most well connected people in the world, Mr Sutherland is on first-name terms with more international politicians and business leaders than most people could name. It comes as no surprise that he is on the board of the World EconomicForum, given that Davos is the perfect place for his kind of networking.

Another Irish regular at Davos, Mr Lochlann Quinn of AIB and Glen Dimplex, says business is thelast thing on his mind when he is here. "I just find it interesting. There are so many topics that have nothing to do with business or economics where you have world experts. Some people come here to do business, I wouldn't. I don't think any of my customers come here anyway," he said.

The Tánaiste was among those pleased to do business at Davos, meeting US companies she hopes to persuade to invest in Ireland. But she suggested the most impressive aspect of the Davos experience was the access it gave to the state of current thinking throughout the world.

"It's a fantastic place to learn the way people are thinking about some of the key issues," she said.

The Irish diaspora was represented in Davos by such diverse figures as Mr John Riordan, chief executive of UPC, a Dutch telecoms company and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, the Vatican's representative to the UN in Geneva.

Davos was due to host a discussion on Northern Ireland today but it was cancelled when most of the participants, due to have included Mr Gerry Adams and Mr David Trimble, pulled out. So the focus on Ireland was very much an economic one, particularly in terms of competitiveness.

Mr Raomal Perera, chief executive of the Irish high-tech firm Network 365, is one of 40 "technology pioneers" from around the world invited to Davos this year. He sees it as a networking opportunity and a chance to raise his company's profile but he does not expect to do any business deals.

"The Who's Who is here. I'm just in awe of the place. But they've also invited global leaders of tomorrow, who are all under 35. It's a great chance to meet them as well as the ones on top," he said.