Pro-Business Environment

The 2008-2012 Business Environment Ranking of the Economist Intelligence Unit placed Ireland 11th globally out of 82 countries, naming it as one of the most attractive business locations in the world. Ireland offers investors:

• A politically stable country and respected regulatory regime
• A thriving RD&I sector, with strong Government support for productive collaboration between industry and academia
• A strong legal framework for development, exploitation and protection of Intellectual Property rights
• Strategic location with easy access to the EMEA region
• Excellent IT skills and infrastructure
• An advanced telecommunications infrastructure, with state-of-the-art optical networks and international connectivity
• Strategic clusters of leading global companies in Life Sciences, ICT, Engineering, Services, Digital Media, and Consumer Brands
• An established reputation as a hub for business process improvement across EMEA

Qutoes

• “Ireland brings so many advantages for a company like ours – a pro-enterprise culture, a highly qualified and well-educated population, necessary support infrastructure and a record of success with projects of this scale and significance”

Mr Willie Deese, Executive Vice President and President of Merck Manufacturing Division, in 11/08, on Merck Sharp Dohme’s new €200 million state-of-the-art vaccine facility in Carlow

• "We are confident that our choice of the Limerick group for this investment [by ON Semiconductor] is the right decision because of the success of that operation to date and our experience of Ireland’s can-do, flexible, pro-business environment which is ideal for our business."

Bill Schromm, ON Semiconductor senior vice president and general manager of Computing Products, in 7/08, on the company’s new RD&I centre in Limerick

• “We know that Ireland can provide the highly skilled personnel we are looking for and the pro-business environment we have experienced to date allows us to operate efficiently and effectively from here”

Geoff McFarland, Group Engineering Director, Renishaw, announcing in 11/08 the establishment of a new RD&I function at its Irish facility