Round table discussion: Ireland’s Road into the EU: the Economy
On 14 June 2007 the Center for the Study of Democracy and the Irish Embassy in Bulgaria organized a round table discussion on the topic "Ireland’s Road into the EU: the Economy" with guest speaker Ms Yvonne McCarthy, Research Analyst at the Economic and Social Research Institute and Central Bank of Ireland.
Ms McCarthy described the dramatic changes of the Irish economy since 1988 with a focus on the impact of immigration. According to her Ireland's exceptional economic growth in recent years has been accomplished by the influx of young and highly educated non-nationals. Despite this the full capacity of immigrants is still not fully utilized, as they are employed in occupations that are not commensurate with their skill levels. Over time however this effect will probably disappear. Ms McCarthy also presented data on the positive effect of immigrants in terms of increased competition on the market, higher GNP, employment and wages.
During the discussion Ms McCarthy elaborated that the EU Structural Funds have been successfully employed in creating the pre-conditions for growth in the Irish economy. They were used for the improvement of education, which was instrumental in creating a skillful labour force.
Ms Yvonne McCarthy is a member of the Macroeconomics and Resource Economics team at the Institute and much of her work focuses on macro-economic modelling and forecasting. She is a joint author of the Institute’s Quarterly Economic Commentary (QEC) and Medium-Term Review (MTR).
