Accenture keep faith in Ireland

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It is with a happy heart today that I learnÂ Accenture has said it is to create 100 IDA supported jobs in Dublin over the next four years . The Global management consultancy already employs 1,300 people in Ireland and these jobs look set to be based at a new research and innovation centre and involve advanced statistical modeling for companies and governments.

As an Irish person who left Ireland [ reluctantly ] for London overÂ three years ago, I felt the sun shining brightly on my back as I left Irish soil for the London smoke - but within 12 months - I felt as if I had left my best friend behind to experience a huge crisis alone, as Ireland was smacked by the Global recession.

But us Irish brethren all stood around with our mouths wide open...as we watched our Celtic Tiger morph into an ailing kitten. On frequent trips home I was greeted with news of friends and family losing jobs on a daily basis. I continue to watch the value of my house fall, dragging me into negative equity,Â but I'm one of the lucky ones,Â at least I only have one house, unlike thousands of others who readilyÂ accepted easy-come mortgages from Irish banks and building societies as we all thought the good times would continue to roll. We saw small businesses fold and watched as companies like Dell and Xerox took their services to cheaper destinations in Eastern Europe and Asia. Mind you we still didn't lower the price of a pint for our visiting Stateside cousins!

It is with anger andÂ frustration that I stand on the sidelines and watch as my friend sinks even more, but I can't help but hear ' I told you so in my ear... ' where did we think the money was coming from - an endless pot of gold in our leprechaun's garden? (cos you know every Irish person knows one).

In the middle of the boom I worked for the Irish television station,Â RTE,Â alongside leading economic commentator and broadcaster David Mc Williams, who is credited with coining the phrase ' Celtic Tiger.' David predicted that the economic bubble we wrapped around us would burst and it wouldn't be long before Noah came on his boat rescuing the few bankers and politicians, leaving many of us behindÂ to struggle against the flood of bad debt and a struggling euro.

Following one of the blackest fortnights in Ireland, today's news is the first significant jobs announcement since the world's focus switched to Ireland's debt crisis. This week Ireland has reportedly accepted an EU and IMF bail-out thought to be worth up to £77 billion, but is bracing itself not only against the bad weather but an austerity budget which has been brought forward to Dec 7. It is also worth remembering how significantÂ Ireland's 12.5% corporation tax rate has been in attracting and maintaining businesses like Accenture and Intel to Ireland.

And so for the future... who knows, as economists and financial commentators try to make sense of a cloudy and cracked crystal ball.Â Do we blame the government, the banks..ourselves even? It's not about finger-pointing now, our energy should now be vested in looking to existing and new businesses, attracting them and encouraging them to remain on Irish shores and Â to become a part of building Ireland to its former roaring beast......