Ireland holds onto 4th place in Forbes Best Countries for Business 2015

December 2015

Produced annually for the last ten years, the Forbes Best Countries for Business list analyses a series of global surveys (including the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom and the World Bank’s Doing Business report, to which Russell Bedford member firms have contributed since 2009) to determine the most business-friendly environments across 144 jurisdictions worldwide.

As last year, Ireland remains the only EU Member State among the top five, ranked on the basis of a series of metrics including stock market performance, tax regulation, technology and innovation.

Tony Carey, managing partner of Russell Bedford member firm Cooney Carey, commented: “Ireland might be a small economy, and in many ways tied to the performance of its major trading partners, the US and the UK. But Ireland’s business environment has been structured to give multinationals, SMEs and entrepreneurs every opportunity to grow their businesses, at home and abroad. The Forbes Best Countries for Business survey testifies to the “tough times” the country and its businesses have invested in over the last five years or so to make the Irish economy one of the most competitive in the world. Ireland’s Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) is forecasting another good year in 2016, with growth at five per cent and employment figures reaching two million. The good news this time is that these are no longer dependent on the property market.”