[patrickk]

The article neglects to mention two of the primary reasons why it's good to do business here:

- 12.5% corporate tax rate. Also if you are big enough to afford good tax advice, e.g. Google or Microsoft you can bounce your revenue from Ireland to the Netherlands and into the Caribbean tax-free islands - http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-21/google-2-4-rate-sho...

- Young, native English-speaking workforce. For historical reasons we don't generally speak our native tongue at all. We've a high birth rate, so our population demographic is quite young compared to other developed western nations.

If a multinational (or startup) is looking to expand into the EU, Ireland would be a good bet for a place to open an office for these reasons. The city I live in (Cork) is just an hour flight from London, and it costs €30 ($40) return including taxes and charges on Ryanair. That's cheaper than a train from Cork to Dublin, our two biggest cities. So Europe is highly accessible, and you can freely travel within the EU without customs hassle.

[janey]

Also, A solid legal system. (which recently stopped 3 strikes rule from happening)