Since Ireland joined the European Union in 1973, the Irish economy has become one of the fastest growing in the developed world, transforming itself from one primarily based on agriculture and traditional manufacturing into one increasingly reliant upon high technology industries and the service sector. Figures from the OECD show Ireland's economic growth between 1995 and 1999 to be approximately three times that of countries such as Belgium, France, Germany, the UK and the USA and, according to the Dublin Regional Authority, it is anticipated that growth will continue at about 5 per cent a year until 2010.

The Dublin region has been the focal point of this expansion and modernisation and has benefited from a great deal of inward investment in recent years. The region is home to some 80 per cent of state sponsored bodies together with 70 per cent of all major public and private companies. In addition, all of the financial institutions in Ireland have their headquarters in Dublin.

Not surpassingly the population of the region has been growing rapidly and this trend is set to continue. Recent projections by the Central Statistics Office indicate that the population of the Dublin region will increase by over 500,000 people by 2031.

Economy:
The Dublin region is the centre piece of the Irish economy and, according to Dublin City Council, accounts for approximately 38 per cent of the country's GNP. Throughout the 1990s the region has expanded its economy by pursuing a development strategy that focuses on establishing public and private sector partnerships to encourage business start-ups, inward investment and tourism. The success of this approach has been immense and today the Dublin region has several thriving industries including aviation engineering, financial services, software and IT, printing, pharmaceuticals and tourism.

Financial services have become particularly important to the region since the establishment of Dublin's International Financial Services Centre in 1987. The centre has attracted a number of leading institutions to set up branches in the region offering services ranging from banking and mutual funds management to corporate treasury and captive insurance. These include NatWest, Bank of America, Citibank and KPMG. The IT sector is also vitally important to the region's economic success and Dublin has become one of the world leaders in software development, playing host to 5 out of the world's top 10 software producers and a significant number of home grown companies.

Workforce:
The region boasts a young, skilled, English speaking workforce, with nearly half of Dublin's population being under 25 years of age. According to the Dublin Regional Authority, the region's labour force has been steadily increasing over the past two decades and constitutes well over 30 per cent of the total labour force in Ireland. However, due to the rapid expansion of many sectors of the economy, employers are facing labour shortages and are having to look overseas for workers. This problem is particularly acute in sectors such as teleservices and the hotel and catering industries, where employees require a combination of both language and technical skills.

Infrastructure:
Dublin's transport infrastructure is in the middle of significant development and investment to help it cope with the strain from the rapidly expanding population and to develop a modern transport system for the future. A Platform for Change, the transport strategy published in 2001 by the Dublin Transportation Office included a number of measures that are already being implemented or planned, including a new Metro system, the upgrading of suburban rail services and a network of bus corridors.

The region also benefits from its own international airport situated just to the north of Dublin City Centre. The airport is home to some 31 airlines offering flights to approximately 75 destinations in Europe and North America. The numbers of passengers using the airport has been steadily increasing and in 2000 exceeded 13.8 million people. The airport has excellent cargo facilities located to the south of the main terminal and there are twenty freight companies operating at the airport.

The region's main port, Dublin Port, handled 21.8 million tonnes of cargo in 2001. It has excellent facilities for handling a variety of cargo including 2 dedicated Lift On/Lift Off terminals, discharging facilities for oil, bitumen, chemicals, liquid petroleum gases and molasses, loading and discharging facilities for dry bulk goods and 12,500 square metres of storage space. The port's principle area of business is Roll On/Roll Off freight and the vast majority of the £65 million invested in the port in recent years has gone into this sector.

Quality of Life:
Dublin was ranked 10th in the EU and 45th out of 215 cities around the world, in the annual quality of life survey published by human resource consultancy William M. Mercer in 2002. Each city is examined on 39 criteria including housing, transport, healthcare, education, political and economic environment and recreation, and Dublin received an overall score of 101 points, compared to 106.5 points for the first placed city of Zurich. In terms of its environment, based on factors such as air pollution levels and the efficiency of waste disposal and sewage systems, Dublin is placed 6th out of the EU capital cities and 45th in the world.

In Mercer's cost of living survey 2002, which compares the cost of over 200 items in some 144 cities around the world, Dublin is ranked as the 4th most expensive city in the EU and 73rd in the world.

Business Costs:
The increasing demand for office space, resulting from the growing number of companies that have established operations in the region, has driven up prices quite dramatically in the past decade. However, the cost of office space in Dublin remains competitive. According to a report published in January 2002 by DTZ, one of the world's leading real estate advisory companies, office occupancy costs in Dublin are approximately $50.20 per square foot per annum. This compares with a cost of $1,450.30 in London (city) ,$71.90 in Paris, and $62.30 in Edinburgh.

Businesses in the region also benefit from the lowest corporate tax in Europe, at 12.5 per cent.