The rise of protectionist trade policies could have negative consequences for Ireland’s multinational sector according to Philip Lane, the governor of the Central Bank.
Foreign-owned multinationals contribute handsomely to the Irish economy through corporation tax and the number of staff they employ.
A record 199,880 people were employed at the end of 2016 by client companies of IDA Ireland, the state body tasked with attracting investment into Ireland, and multinationals pay about 80 per cent of the country’s total corporation tax take.
Mr Lane warned in an address to the Cork chamber of commerce about the potential impact of protectionism on the Irish economy.
Apparently referring to the border tax proposed by Republican members of the US House of Representatives, Mr Lane said such a