While much has been made of the ‘Celtic Tiger’ in recent years, there is no doubt that during the past 18 months or so it has been yawning rather than roaring. As you would expect in an economy heavily reliant on foreign investment, and US investment in particular, Ireland has not been immune to the downturn in the US and global economies.
In the technology sector, however, while IPO activity is virtually non-existent, private equity investment continues to be strong. Total investment in 2001 was estimated by Ion Equity at approximately E400m (£246m). This compared with an estimated total of E385m (£237m) in the previous year, which suggests that Ireland continues to have a strong and resiliant technology sector even in the more uncertain economic climate.
