ABSTRACT
Since the early 1990s the Republic of Ireland (henceforth Ireland) has undergone a major transformation. Between 1993 and 2001 the annual real growth of the economy at 8.0 per cent per annum was more than double the average recorded over the previous three decades. The population of the state increased by 8 per cent in the six years between 1996 and 2002, as the country prospered and as inmigration replaced emigration. The 2002 population of 3,917,336 was the highest recorded for the country since 1871. Employment estimates indicate that between 1995 and early 2003 the number of people at work increased by 43.6 per cent and the number employed in early 2003 at 1,772,000 was significantly above levels ever recorded in the history of the state. Many policy developments contributed to this unprecedented period of growth, most especially the success of Ireland in attracting foreign direct investment (OECD, 1999).
