New figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that foreign investment flows into Ireland last year almost doubled from the depressed levels of 2001, to reach nearly Ђ26bn.
But Irish investments abroad had not yet recovered, falling to Ђ3.3bn from Ђ4.5bn the previous year, according to the CSO estimates.
Around 70% of foreign investment into Ireland appears to come from US companies. The figures are not precise because they show the country of origin rather than the nationality of the investors.
Investment from the Netherlands, at Ђ10.7bn, was bigger than that from the USA (Ђ7.9bn) last year because most of the investment nominally from the Netherlands is from US companies that have their headquarters there, usually for tax reasons.
"It shows how important tax considerations are for US companies," said Alan McQuaid, economist at Bloxham Stockbrokers.
