Dublin, Ireland News

About Dublin, Ireland

The Dublin region is the centre piece of the Irish economy and, according to Dublin City Council, accounts for approximately 38 per cent of the country's GNP.

Throughout the 1990s the region has expanded its economy by pursuing a development strategy that focuses on establishing public and private sector partnerships to encourage business start-ups, inward investment and tourism.

The success of this approach has been immense and today the Dublin region has several thriving industries including aviation engineering, financial services, software and IT, printing, pharmaceuticals and tourism.

Financial services have become particularly important to the region since the establishment of Dublin's International Financial Services Centre in 1987.

The centre has attracted a number of leading institutions to set up branches in the region offering services ranging from banking and mutual funds management to corporate treasury and captive insurance.

These include NatWest, Bank of America, Citibank and KPMG. The IT sector is also vitally important to the region's economic success and Dublin has become one of the world leaders in software development, playing host to 5 out of the world's top 10 software producers and a significant number of home grown companies.

Dublin was ranked 10th in the EU and 45th out of 215 cities around the world, in the annual quality of life survey published by human resource consultancy William M. Mercer in 2002.

Each city is examined on 39 criteria including housing, transport, healthcare, education, political and economic environment and recreation, and Dublin received an overall score of 101 points, compared to 106.5 points for the first placed city of Zurich.

In terms of its environment, based on factors such as air pollution levels and the efficiency of waste disposal and sewage systems, Dublin is placed 6th out of the EU capital cities and 45th in the world.

In Mercer's cost of living survey 2002, which compares the cost of over 200 items in some 144 cities around the world, Dublin is ranked as the 4th most expensive city in the EU and 73rd in the world.

Other Major Cities:

• Cork
• Galway
• Tallaght
• Blanchardstown
• Limerick
• Waterford
• Clondalkin
• Lucan
• Swords