(Part 1 of the Doing Business in Ireland series)

Ireland has long been an attractive proposition for overseas businesses looking to start a business. As a result, today there are over 1,000 well-known and emerging global companies from a wide range of business activities and sectors located in Ireland including 9 of the top 10 global ICT companies and 8 of the top 10 global pharmaceutical companies.  Moreover, Brexit has also played a significant role with Dublin pipping Frankfurt at the post to take the top spot for most popular “Brexodus” destination in Europe.

Why Start a Business in Ireland?

What makes Ireland attractive is a combination of factors underpinned by the positive approach of successive Irish Governments to attracting overseas business.  Through membership of the European Union (EU), Ireland offers foreign business access to a trading area that is second only to the U.S. in terms of GDP.  Not only that, Ireland has a very favourable corporate tax rate (12.5%) and a highly educated, skilled and flexible workforce.  The combination of all these factors with our “can-do” approach to the complexities of international business, offer foreign companies a package that ticks all the boxes.

Check List for Setting Up a Company In Ireland

The following checklist provides a very useful starting point when considering whether to set up a company in Ireland:

• What is the right company structure?
• What are the costs of setting up and maintaining the company in Ireland?
• What are the legal and regulatory requirements for the business’s services or products?
• What is the tax regime and what are its implications for the company and its employees?
• What are the expected salary levels and what are the mandatory or typical voluntary employee benefits?
• What are the local and national supports and potential funding available to businesses through public funding or other services?
• What resources does my company need – whether physical, infrastructural and technical, and (of course) the qualities required from the workforce, and how does Ireland fit those requirements?
• What are the advantages location in Ireland brings when considering my business’s access to key markets?

Our track record in the provision of international business services stretches back to 1997 when we started working with international companies setting up their business in Ireland and Irish companies expanding abroad  – if you need advice with setting up a business in Ireland, get in touch and we’ll be happy to help.

Of course, another important factor to consider is the quality of life Ireland offers.  Well, Ireland performs pretty well according to the OECD Better Life Index – you can see the index here:

http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/ireland/

It rains a bit…but, as a wise man once said:

‘There’s no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing.’