The 75th anniversary of the birth of the Irish state also marks the best year for investment by multinationals into its tiger economy. Although marred by the dramatic pull-out of Seagate Technology from its Clonmel base two weeks ago, this year's performance has seen IDA Ireland continue its role of being the envy of development agencies in other EU countries while this State is topping the league tables on all economic indicators.
Beginning the year with a brief to actively encourage investment in the regions, the IDA ended with over 80 announcements, with 50 expansions or start-ups placed outside the Co Dublin area.
"The biggest pressure on the IDA would have been to bring more investment to the regions. Dublin is sailing along, mainly on its own steam," says Colm Donlon of the IDA. He says that about half of the IDA grant assistance went to the regions - "a major shift from last year" - although many peripheral counties are still gasping for a sight of the famed tiger.
The announcements began in the first week of January, when the US company, Allied Signal, stated it would create 150 jobs in Waterford in a £17 million investment. Eastman Kodak quickly followed, saying they would create 360 more jobs in its compact disc plant in Youghal, Co Cork.
Healthcare company announcements followed soon after, in February, with Pall Corporation of Tipperary creating 250 jobs in a blood filter manufacturing operation. That was followed by the plan by Abbott Laboratories, manufacturers of diagnostic kits in Sligo, to take on another 50 people in a $12 million expansion programme. These announcements culminated in the Galway-based micro-surgical equipment company Boston Scientific providing the biggest investment news of the year in November - the creation of 2050 jobs in Galway and Cork.
Boston Scientific was the year's success story, with its first round of expansion announced in March when it announced a plan to increase its manufacturing space by 200,000 square feet, and increasing its employees by 1,000.
Colm Donlon says that it was "definitely the best year in Ireland's history", remembering the contrast of over a decade ago, when he spent most of the time drawing a map of Ireland while briefing a group of journalists in Tokyo.
"We would be seen in America as similar to Japan or Germany in the post-war era - we are coming out of an era of low growth and slow growth. Anybody that matters in terms of business has heard about Ireland," he says.
This year there were six investments by Japanese companies, the largest being the £14 million expansion, with the creation of 300 jobs by KAO Corporation, at Clondalkin and Ballsbridge in Dublin. Most of the investments are by US companies, but companies from Britain, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark and Holland also featured.
Colm Donlon says that the first reason for this State's attractiveness is its "flow of reputation" to US companies looking to move to Europe. Fortune magazine's top 10 pharmaceutical companies are in this State, while 12 of the top 20 electronics companies operate here. "Secondly, it is one of the few countries over the past four or five years where people were able to get the start-ups moving quickly and getting an environment that was extremely friendly and conducive in every sense," he says, citing the social partnership agreements, the low Corporation tax rate and the low inflation rate as added incentives.
"By far the biggest investments would be the whole electronics side of it, which would account for about half of the investment," he says.
The other strong sectors are the software, teleservices, pharmaceutical/healthcare and financial services ones.
"We have attracted near 500 financial services companies from around the world. They have created one of the biggest fund management companies in the world," says Colm Donlon, while teleservices is growing "faster than anybody predicted".
"There is a huge demand for people with skills and languages," he says. While education policies dating from 25 years ago are bearing fruit for the general population, the issue of training young people beyond the Leaving Certificate in electronics and software skills remains. In terms of a skilled labour economy we are not far off reaching full employment," Colm Donlon adds.
Seagate's announcement in June of its £148 million investment in Ringaskiddy, Cork, made summer headlines with its promise of 1,000 jobs, but so far has proved a damp squib.
However, a week later, Hewlett Packard, manufacturing printer pens for inkjet printers in Leixlip, Co Kildare, rowed in with an equally weighty promise to create a further 1,000 jobs in a £100 million investment. The other major announcements were made by Compaq Computer in February, to create 550 jobs at its telephone support centre in Blackrock, Co Dublin, by the Austrian company, Hans Andersen KG, of Ennis, Co Clare, in April, with its expectation of creating 600 jobs at its jewellery manufacturing plant, and by sunglasses and lens manufacturer Bausch & Lomb, in October, to employ another 650 people in Waterford. About 60 per cent of the announcements come from outside the Co Dublin area. "The impact of regional structural funds has made a huge difference. It is now having its effect on the economy in terms of access. "In the last three or four years, there has been a very solid growth in multinational development south of Galway/Dublin," says Mr Donlon.
North of the line, there were 12 announcements during the year, but only two in Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim, involving a total of 463 jobs.
Colm Donlon says that infrastructural development is skewed in favour of certain counties.
"It is not working well all around. The development is very solid in every sense nationally. But if you break it into local areas in Ireland, there are large gaps in the wealth being distributed around the country," he notes.
