IDA Ireland is the agency responsible for industrial development in Ireland. The agency was founded in 1949 as the Industrial Development Authority as an ad-hoc organisation and placed on a statutory footing a year later. During the Lemass Era the authority changed its role greatly and took a central role in reform and industrialisation of the economy. In 1994 the authority became the Industrial Development Agency (Ireland) or more commonly the IDA Ireland. In recent years many counties have created industrial development authorities modelled on the agency to incourage economic growth.
The 1994 reform also limited its sphere of influence to the foreign direct investment arena; the promotion of Irish companies was passed to Enterprise Ireland , whilst policy and advisory matters are dealt with by Forfás. The agencies are responsible to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment in the Irish Government.
The agency is responsible for the development and promotion of foreign industry and enterprise in Ireland. Typically this is done by offering incentives, such as tax reduction, grants and buildings to carry out business in. In recent years the Celtic Tiger has raised concerns that the agency is not introducing enough research and value added companies into Ireland, high skills industries are believed to be critical for the continued development of the economy of Ireland.
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Last updated: 05-21-2005 23:17:11
