It’s not just making malt whiskey that the Irish are good at. They are also competent in building a model of society that recognizes growth values that any country aspires to have.
You just need to look at the GDP figures in recent years to see this fact. For the year 2025, the Bank of Ireland’s GDP forecast is 4.3%, which should not be difficult to achieve. So let’s see! The first and second quarters of 2025 saw growth, respectively, of 13.3% and 12.5%.
But, after all, what is the secret of this Irish miracle? We know, firstly, that there is a lot of North American money there that comes from technology companies that chose Dublin, the capital of Ireland, to set up shop. Google, Apple, Pfizer are in Dublin as well as other services and pharmaceutical companies.
The choice of these companies to establish themselves in Ireland has to do with the fiscal policy that the country practices and which is highly stable. Priority to low taxes. The IRC on companies in Ireland is 12.5%, which largely justifies the choice of North American technology companies to set up their headquarters.
Furthermore, the Irish don’t change their taxes like changing their shirts.
In fact, the political stability and maturity of political parties in Ireland cannot be compared to Portugal. They take things seriously there and don’t waste time on goat matters.
Fine Gael, a center-right, liberal and conservative party, and Fianna Fail, a centrist republican and nationalist party, joined by some independent deputies in the last elections (in 2020), reached an agreement between them that included tax cuts, an innovation-friendly tax system, increased public investment and an annual increase in the carbon tax.
Therefore, dear readers, political parties with good judgment, political predictability and low taxes explain an important part of Irish success.
In addition to all this, the Irish pay special attention to Education issues. Compulsory education from 6 to 16 years old and strongly encouraged from 3 to 6 years old. The educational focus is on innovation with special emphasis on areas such as science, technology, mathematics and engineering. This makes Irish universities highly sought after by foreign students. They receive, annually, around 30 thousand students from other countries. But the most important thing about the Irish educational model is that it is strongly linked to the economy and companies.
When young graduates leave universities, they also have a life horizon. Contrary to what Portuguese employers do, which often promote unpaid internships for a period of six months, then refusing to make a contract with the interns, in Ireland there are internships that are mandatory (Internships) in technical courses such as engineering, technology, finance, pharmaceuticals and marketing. Paid, naturally. And with hiring, post-internship, in most cases.
This model creates a competitive economy with very high productivity rates. In 2025, labor productivity was 127 euros per worker and in multinationals this value increases to 388.9 euros per hour. This compared to the average productivity in the European Union, which is 46.4 euros per hour, gives an idea of how far away Ireland is.
Naturally, with high growth rates, Ireland has plenty of financial resources for social areas, particularly health. With almost six million inhabitants, its health budget in 2025 is 25.8 million euros and by 2026 it is expected that the Irish will spend 27.4 million euros to treat the health of their inhabitants.
Ireland is therefore a good example of how you can build a country with correct decisions, a sensible political attitude with priority to the country’s problems.
Without a doubt, a good example that should be followed here.
Journalist