Ireland has an open trading economy, with flexible labour markets, high skill levels and one of the lowest tax environments within the European Union. This combination places the country in a strong position to benefit from upturns in the global economy, but also means that its level of economic growth is dependent on global conditions.  

The Irish economy was part of the global crisis in 2008 and the effects were exacerbated by national circumstances and serious corporate governance failings. 

Governance and technology will be key for the public sector

Key for Ireland’s public sector is ensuring sustainability and resilience to the shocks of future financial crises, such as another global downturn, the withdrawal of US or other foreign investment, or a new Eurozone crisis.

It must continue to adapt its structures and processes to ensure that it can offer services flexibly to support quicker and more agile decision making and delivery.

Big data is also likely to be extremely important for the future of the Irish economy and survey respondents identified it as the key driver of change in the public sector. 

Ireland has invested in research into big data and data analytics applications and the government is open to creating opportunities for their use.