The Irish Enlightenment: Dovetailing Technological Progress and Government Policy

Having fully deregulated the telecommunications market (with over 20 companies competing), the government set about positioning Ireland as a hub for Internet business. It adapted a proactive approach to e-commerce, which was translated into legislation giving validity to electronic signatures and contracts (in the E-Commerce Act, July 2000). The taoiseach (prime minister), Mr. Bertie Ahern, was presented with the Cyber Champion Award by the Business Software Alliance in October 2000 in recognition of his efforts to support the software industry.

In terms of infrastructure, over 98% of national telecommunications is carried on fiber optics. A high-capacity cable capable of handling 30 million calls simultaneously now connects Dublin to the U.S. and 36 European cities. This broadband capacity is being extended to all the counties in Ireland, making it one of the best-connected countries in the world and providing firms with a platform upon which to build their e-business.

This enlightened approach has made Ireland the preferred European location for software companies, and is likely to make her a global leader in knowledge-based industry and services.

In Ireland, politics has always had more to do with pragmatism , vision, and adapting to change than ideology. Cooperation between the public and private sectors has never been problematic . Albert Reynolds, who held numerous cabinet posts (posts and telegraphs, industry and commerce, finance) before becoming taoiseach in 1992, was a millionaire who made his fortune from meat products and ballrooms. He is typical of a breed of Irish politicians with a keen sense of business. Ireland is a small country where networking is a way of life. This facilitates the flow of information and points of view among politicians , businessmen, civil servants, academics , and union leaders . So it is relatively easy to make things happen.

Major investment decisions are taken quickly both at a local and a national level. Whether it is getting a bridge built in a provincial town because a Korean investor complained of traffic congestion, or investing $5 billion to build that state-of-the-art digital telecom system, Ireland is a place where civil servants and politicians get things done in double-quick time when local or national interests are at stake. Brendan Halpin continues his discussion of IDA responsiveness.

Brendan Halpin

The lines of communication between the IDA and the taoiseach, and the ministers for industry and education are very short. The responsiveness of government, irrespective of the party in power, was a key factor. That would be impossible in a lot of countries. The people who set up the IDA devised this view that an independent, professional organization with wide-reaching powers should be established to sell Ireland as a product. That it should get fundamental support through legislation to enable that to happen was quite far-reaching. The IDA was the largest property developer in the country, competing with private developers and even subsidizing potential clients and selling or leasing property below market prices. In other countries that would have been terribly difficult. Even in Ireland, you probably couldn't do that today.