Ireland's incredible economic success has left many countries in complete fascination.

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Ireland's incredible economic success has left many countries in complete fascination. In foreign and finance ministries the refrain "We want to be like Ireland" can be heard often. The eight countries that joined the EU in May 2004, including Estonia and Slovenia, hope to follow in the fortunes of the "Celtic Tiger" and prosper fast. For this essay it is important to first look at the success that Ireland has had and then to assess the factors that created this success. Although the boom began in 1987, after seven years of poor performance, it will become clear that Ireland's success took place mainly because of the opening up of the country and stepping away from old conventions. This includes Sean Lemass's economic reforms, direct foreign investment, membership of the European Union (EU), a shift in the education system and women becoming part of the Irish workforce. Other factors that need to be considered are the influx of migrants into Ireland from the 1970s, Ireland's demographic structure and after a bleak period, in the 1980s, the fiscal reforms that restructured the economy. It may not seem that other countries can follow in the Irish footsteps however there is much they can learn.

Ireland is held up as an economic model as it grew from one of Europe's worst economies to its best performing economy. One way to measure Ireland's success is through Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In 1987 Irish GDP per person was 69% of the EU average, by 2003 it had reached 136%. Unemployment in Ireland fell from 17% in 1987 to 4% in 2003 and government debt shrank from 112% of GDP to 33%. Another means of measurement for Ireland is Gross National Product (GNP). Although GNP does not show Ireland in as favourable a light as GDP Paul Sweeney notes that from 1993 until the end of 1997 GNP growth averaged over 7.5 per cent a year which shows that according to GNP national income rose by an amazing 44% in just five years. An article in The Economist highlights that, 'On the face of it, this is one of the most remarkable economic transformations of recent times:  From basket case to "emerald tiger" in ten years'.

Many Economists and Scholars believe that Ireland's success only seems so great because it is being compared to the poor performance of the Irish economy in previous years. Indeed John Fitzgerald has played down the success of Ireland believing that the current boom is better seen as a belated catching up rather than an "economic miracle". In order to assess the factors involved in Ireland's success it is important to understand what Ireland was like before this economic boom.

Ireland's image since the 1960s has changed dramatically. Between the years of 1922-1962 Ireland was a rural country dominated socially and culturally by the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church and the Taoiseach, Eamon De Valera, wanted to 'Preserve Ireland' keeping it devoutly Catholic and rural as the rest of Europe moved on. The idea of having a "perfect family" in which women did not work outside the home was cemented in society. Education was seen as a threat and it was discouraged by having restrictive employment practices so that the educated could not find work. As a result emigration of Irish people in search of job opportunities was frequent, so much so that in 1960 Ireland's population stood at only 2.8 million.  In terms of the economy Ireland had a highly protectionist economy with high tariff barriers and it had missed out entirely on the post-war boom.

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It was the stepping away from old conventions and the opening up of Ireland in the 1960s that has to be regarded as Ireland's route to success. Sean Lemass, who was Taoiseach between 1959-66, can be given the praise for stepping away from the protectionist economics of early Ireland. Lemass planned for economic expansion of Ireland. He introduced tax breaks and grants were also set up to encourage foreign firms to set up in Ireland. In 1960 Ireland signed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which paved the way for free trade. The state was also opened ...

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