Ireland has 10 R&D homegrown companies and 27 foreign domiciled firms — 3

R&D — Research and Development in a country

The United States and China dominate global R&D spending. The United States leads global R&D spending with nearly USD 784 billion in 2023, closely followed by China at USD 723 billion [China is outpacing all countries in recent spending]. The European Union collectively invested about EUR 381 – 389 billion, equivalent to roughly USD 420 billion, making it the world’s third-largest R&D spender after the U.S. and China — The top global R&D spenders, 2023.

Irish firm software developers were at O.5% in 2024 while the total was 8.4% — 2

Permanent, full-time employment in the industry and services sectors: Software Developers or  Computer Programming, in 2025, is related to the Annual Employment Survey 2024.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT): The total number of people in Ireland in 2024, working in the ICT sector, was 136,686, 109,031 in foreign-owned firms and 27,655 in Irish companies.

Software Developers / Computer Programming in total had 42,384 people in the year.

Irish-owned firms in 2024 had a total number of people of 2,528 in programming.

Foreign-owned companies that are mainly American and have facilities in Ireland had a total headcount of 39,836.

Total permanent, full-time employment in Government agency-assisted companies operating in all sectors amounted to 504,831 in 2024.   

 Among foreign-owned companies, total permanent, full-time employment reached 299,059 in 2024, representing a 2,237-job increase (0.8%) over the previous year and the highest employment level recorded during 10 years.

Total permanent, full-time employment among Irish-owned companies amounted to 205,772 in 2024.

The total of  505,000!

This is a denominator.

The total result is  8.4% ICT Employment

The 2,528 Irish result is 0.51 ICT Employment

  

Ireland's GDP per capita highest in the world! — 1

40+ mainly US firms are Irish for tax purposes, led by Medtronic and Accenture

Leprechaun Economics: Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize &The New York Times (2016)

In Irish folklore, a leprechaun is said to hide its pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. This treasure, however, is a classic example of a "fool's gold" chase, as the end of a rainbow is physically impossible to reach.

The legend teaches a cautionary lesson about greed and pursuing unattainable wealth.

There was widespread mockery of figures published data that showed the country's gross domestic product (GDP) had grown by a staggering 26% in 2015.

 The figures were heavily distorted by the activities of multinational companies that use Dublin as a centre for financing and taxation operations. Economist Paul Krugman described the GDP number as "leprechaun economics". 

The Financial Times said the presentation was on a par with the works of James Joyce and Flann O'Brien.

"A stunning $12 trillion — almost 40 per cent of all foreign direct investment positions globally — is completely artificial: it consists of financial investment passing through empty corporate shells with no real activity. These investments in empty corporate shells almost always pass through well-known tax havens. 

The eight major pass-through economies — the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Hong Kong SAR, the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Ireland, and Singapore — host more than 85 per cent of the world’s investment in special purpose entities, which are often set up for tax reasons" — "Piercing the Veil," International Monetary Fund, June 2018.

"Leprechaun economics" is a term coined by economist Professor Krugman to describe Ireland's distorted economic statistics, particularly its artificially high GDP, caused by multinational companies shifting profits and intangible assets to Ireland to take advantage of its low corporate tax rate. 

This statistical "magic" inflates Ireland's GDP, which can affect Eurozone economic data and EU budget contributions, although the government rejects the term as a mischaracterisation of its economic success. To provide a clearer picture, Irish statisticians now publish alternative indicators like Gross National Income* (GNI*), which is significantly lower than GDP.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita is a measure of a country's economic output per person, calculated by dividing its total GDP by its population. It is used to assess a nation's economic prosperity and is often considered an indicator of the standard of living. 

While nominal GDP per capita uses exchange rates, Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) per capita is considered a more accurate comparison tool because it accounts for the relative cost of living in different countries.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in 2025, Ireland has a GDP per capita of $129,132 (USD) followed by Switzerland  $111,047; Singapore 94,481; Norway $91,884; USA $89,599; Denmark 76,581; The Netherlands 73,174; Qatar 71,442; Australia 65,946; Sweden 62,035; Austria 61,694; Isaerl 60,409 (this enconomy operates an Aparheid System); Belgium 60,418; Germany 59,925; UK 56,661 UK; Finland 56,084; Canada 54,935; United Arab Emirates 51,348; New Zealand 49,83; France 48,982; Italy 43,161.

Spain 38,040; Taiwan 37,827 (IMF - Province of China); Slovenia 37,178; South Korea 35,231; Czech Republic 35,161; Japan 34,713; Estonia 34,041; Lithuania 32,982; Portugal 31,415; Kuwait 30,048.

(I ignored countries that have populations under 2 million and GDP below 30,00. For example, Turkey has a GDP per capita of 18,198; Russia has 17,446. World 14,217 of 193 countries.) 

"Actual individual consumption, abbreviated as (AIC), refers to all goods and services actually consumed by households. It encompasses consumer goods and services purchased directly by households, as well as services provided by non-profit institutions and the government for individual consumption (e.g., health and education services). 

In international comparisons, the term is usually preferred over the narrower concept of household consumption, because the latter is influenced by the extent to which non-profit institutions and general government act as service providers.

Although GDP (Gross Domestic Product) per capita is an important and widely used indicator of a country’s level of economic welfare, consumption per capita may be more useful for comparing the relative welfare of consumers across various countries.

AIC per capita is usually highly correlated with GDP per capita, because AIC is, in practice, by far the biggest expenditure component of GDP."

The Hungarian dictatorship came last  

In 2024, 9 EU countries recorded an AIC per capita above the EU average. The highest levels were recorded in Luxembourg (41% above the EU average), the Netherlands (20%) and Germany (18%). 

Meanwhile, 18 EU countries recorded an AIC per capita below the EU average, with the lowest levels recorded in Hungary (28% below the EU average), Bulgaria and Estonia (26%).

As of 2024, Hungary is considered "no longer a full democracy" by the EU, and is generally said to have democratically backslid since 2010 when the Fidesz–KDNP Party Alliance led by Viktor Orbán won a two-thirds parliamentary supermajority and adopted a new constitution of Hungary that has both remained in place ...

In the April 2022 election, Viktor Orbán won a fourth consecutive term in office. His party, Fidesz, again secured another two-thirds majority in parliament.

Ireland's position is 10th in the key economic performance measure in the European Union   

The GDP per capita for Ireland in 2024 is more than double the AIC level. 

This table shows sales, exports, value added and direct expenditure for 2023 by ownership. 

Irish economy jumps 22% and in 40 years Ryanair is the top in Ireland and Europe

The Goods for processing (above) are a fiction.

The Goods for processing were in China and did not come from Ireland.

Department of Business / Enterprise, Tourism and Employment:

• Total sales for agency-Government Agency-assisted companies in 2023 amounted to €509.7 billion.

□ Foreign-owned companies account for €442.8 billion, an increase of 7.1% over the previous year. This represents 86.9% of total sales by Agency clients in 2023.

 □ Sales for Irish-owned firms increased by 4.6% between 2022 and 2023, amounting to €66.8 billion or 13.1% of total sales. 

• Total exports for agency clients amounted to €459.4 billion in 2023, a 7.0% increase over 2022 exports, with €424.5 billion exports by Foreign-owned companies and €35.0 billion exports by Irish-owned companies in 2023. 

• Value added was €206.2 billion in 2023 with 88.0% of this value being generated in foreign-owned firms.

 • Irish-owned client companies have €37.5 billion of direct expenditure in the Irish economy compared with €40.9 billion for foreign-owned companies. 

So, direct spending is similar for foreign companies and local Irish companies.

Employment

The total full–employment in 2024 for the Government  Assisted firms was 505,831, with foreign firm employment at 299,059  (118,730 in 2015) and local ones at 205,772 (139,45 in 2115).

This year, total full-time employment in the economy is about 2,250,000

In 2015, the population was 4,700,000.

In 2025, the population is likely to be 5,500,000

The population in 10 years (2015-2025) rose by about 800,000.

Discuussion

• Enterprise Ireland, an Irish government agency that promotes selling overseas

Some of the top Danish-born companies include Novo Nordisk, Maersk, Vestas, Ørsted, and Carlsberg Group. These companies are leaders in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, shipping, wind energy, and brewing. Other prominent companies include DSV A/S (logistics), Danske Bank (banking), and Coloplast (medical devices).

Contribution from Danish-born companies: By subtracting the foreign-owned share, one can infer that Danish-owned companies make up the remaining 73% of total exports.

This translates to approximately €85 billion in exports from Danish-owned companies to the EU in 2024.

Also in 2023, Irish-born firms accounted for a low level of €10 billion for the 26 other members of the EU.

However, Ryanair contributes to the Irish economy through spending, job creation, and tourism.

An independent PwC accountancy report indicates that Ryanair and its passengers spend over €1.5 billion annually in Ireland, support over 26,000 jobs, and carry 20 million passengers from seven Irish airports annually. The airline has also invested in new facilities and plans to create more jobs by 2030.

The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council has warned that  "Government revenue is highly concentrated and hence could reverse suddenly. Risks around corporation tax are well known, with estimates suggesting 3 firms contributed 43% of corporation tax in 2022. 

The Department of Finance Even with record corporation tax revenues, the government faces a large underlying deficit when these "windfall" taxes are excluded."

The Department of Finance, Ireland, is warning of a potential future deficit because the country's finances are becoming overly reliant on "windfall" corporation tax receipts, primarily from a small number of large, highly profitable multinational companies, such as Apple. If these "volatile" taxes decline, Ireland faces a large underlying deficit, as current spending commitments are not sustainable without them. The government has acknowledged this risk but continues to set aside some of the excess funds, though economists argue the situation remains precarious.

DUBLIN, April 30 (Reuters) - "Foreign multinationals paid a record 88% of all Irish corporate tax last year, with the largest 10 firms accounting for 57% of surging receipts, according to data on Wednesday that highlighted the country's vulnerability to U.S. policy changes."

"The warning is due to Ireland's public finances becoming over-reliant on volatile corporation taxes from a small number of multinational companies, which is creating a large underlying deficit when these "windfall" receipts are excluded. The Department of Finance and the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council are concerned that if corporate tax revenues decline, the state could face a severe fiscal shortfall. To address this, the government is establishing investment funds to save some of the current revenue for future needs."

IRELAND'S independent fiscal watchdog has issued a warning to the government over their current budget plan. -Advertisement- The government’s proposed €9.4 billion package for Budget 2026, which includes €7.9 billion in spending increases and €1.5 billion in tax cuts, has been criticised by the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (IFAC) as excessive.

Income tax is also heavily concentrated. A small number of employees pay a large share of income tax. These highly paid employees are likely to work in highly profitable sectors where large corporation tax payments are made. A downturn in these sectors would mean not just a reduction in corporation tax, but also income tax.

The Irish government has plenty of pain points that could do with a multibillion-euro injection. The Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil coalition also has the incentive of an election due next year to woo voters. But the figures are eye-watering even for Ireland’s inflated coffers, as are the timelines for improvement.  An all-island rail review, which includes neighboring Northern Ireland, says a €37 billion investment was required over 25 years to update the island’s network.

Three American firms pay a third of Ireland's corporation tax

Foreign companies paid 88% of Corporation Tax in 2024; Irish multinationals paid 4% and other companies 8%

"Ireland's corporation tax receipts have surged in the past decade. Since 2015, they've grown to over a quarter of all tax receipts, having averaged closer to 13% for two decades. 

They are highly concentrated, with just three firms estimated to account for 38% of receipts in 2023. We show how this concentration could be set to rise. We do so by providing the first in-depth estimate of the impact of the OECD's Pillar II reforms on Irish receipts."

Ireland's GDP per capita is the highest in the world! Wonder why ??

Ireland's GDP per capita highest in the world! — 1

Irish software developers were at O.5% in 2024 while the total was 8.4% — 2

How Adolf Hitler turned a fledging German democrocay into a murderous dictatoratship in 53 days

President Paul von Hindenburg with 15th Chancellor Adolf Hitler in May 1933

Hindenburg was 84 years old, and Hitler was 43 years old

The Weimar Republic was a historical period of the German state from 9 November 1918 to 23 March 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history.

"It took the Nazis one month, three weeks, two days, eight hours and 40 minutes to dismantle a constitutional republic"

On November 08, 1918, a meeting was scheduled between military officers and politicians of Germany and the main Allies of the First World War.

The location was a railway carriage in the forest of Compiègne in northern France.

The Germans thought that they were there to negotiate terms. 

However, Marshal Foch, the top French military leader, made it clear that they were, in fact, there to sign Germany’s unconditional surrender. 

Three days of fruitless negotiations followed before the Germans signed the armistice, lodging a formal complaint about the harsh terms imposed on Germany by the victorious Allies.

Just 6.6% of world's population lives in full democracies; 39.2% in dictororships

Just 6.6% of the world's population now lives in a full democracy, down from 12.5% ten years ago. And a large share of the world's population — this data is from The Economist.

Only 25 countries in the world are fully functioning democracies — and the US isn’t one of them.

To be labelled a flawed democracy, countries like Chile, Israel and Italy have broadly democratic processes but often fall short on at least one metric, such as poor political participation or infringement of civil liberties. (The International Court of Justice [ICJ] has accused Israel of Apartheid and may charge the country with Genocide)

Sixty countries are dictatorships among 167 countries in 2024.

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is a sister unit of The Economist newspaper and a division of The Economist Group. It was created in 1946. The Economist was founded in London, England, in 1843.

Nine of the ten most democratic countries are in Western Europe. They also account for more than half of the 25 classed as full democracies.

European Union: Most pressing issues for citizens in cities, towns and suburbs, and rural areas (June)

"Over half (51%) of city residents consider the ‘lack of affordable housing’ an urgent and immediate problem, followed by ‘unemployment or lack of job opportunities’ (33%), lack of quality public services (32%) and ‘poverty or homelessness’ (32%).

Significant differences emerge across areas: while affordable housing remains the top concern in both cities and towns, the urgency is more acutely felt in cities (51%) than in towns and suburbs (37%) or rural areas (28%). Conversely, rural respondents cite the lack of quality public services (36%) as their top concern."

The Central Bank of Ireland, "As of Q4 2024, the wealthiest 10 per cent of households held 49.1 per cent of total net wealth in the country."

Irish economy jumps 22% and in 40 years Ryanair is the top in Ireland and Europe

Cover cartoon in the July 1956 edition of the satirical magazine 'Dublin Opinion' — ‘Shortly Available: Underdeveloped Country: Unrivalled Opportunities: Magnificent Views, Political and Otherwise: Owners Going Abroad.’ As the Irish political system remained in a state of stasis, other Western European countries were rebuilding. West Germany recorded a goods trade surplus in 1952, and it has been in the black since. The period 1950-1973 was called the Golden Age of Economic Growth in Western Europe. Real (inflation-adjusted) annual average compound growth rates were unprecedented, according to Prof Angus Maddison: Greece grew 6.2% annually; West Germany and Italy expanded by 5% each year; France achieved 4%; Portugal and Spain logged 5.7% and 5.8% respectively. The UK had the lowest rate at 2.5%. Ireland's performance was at 3.1% as was Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland — the latter countries were growing from higher prewar bases. For example, in 1973, Swiss per capita GDP was 138% higher than Ireland's, while Denmark's level was 104%.

The Republic of Ireland has done well servicing American companies in the past 10 years. The Ecomosit says it's “polluted by tax arbitrage.”

The Central Bank of Ireland, "As of Q4 2024, the wealthiest 10 per cent of households held 49.1 per cent of total net wealth in the country."

The Irish economy, as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP), was 22% larger in the first quarter of 2025 than one year earlier, according to the latest estimates from the Central Statistics Office (CSO). Think about it. The figures suggest that for every €1 of activity last year, there was €1.22 in 2025.7 Jun 2025

EU: 2015-2023: Industrial production by country, annual rates of change (%) 36% in 2015; 2020 14.6%; 2021 28.4%; 2022 18.9%; and 2023 (-7.7%). 

Ryanair, in 40 years, is a unique Irish home-grown enterprise that has become the leader in its field across Europe     

On July 8, 2025, Ryanair marks its 40th birthday, tracing its roots back to a humble 15‑seat Embraer Bandeirante turboprop that launched.

In its last reporting year, Ryanair’s fleet of over 550 aircraft carried more than 200 million passengers. The airline is the biggest in Europe.

Michael O'Leary has been key to its success for 34 years. He is Irish and the head office is in Dublin.

Since 1989 the top 10% of Americans have approximately 60% to 70% of nations wealth

  

 In 2022, 52% of the US population lived in families that were unable to “pay for all the goods and services necessary to fully participate in today’s economy and society without cutting back, as well as save money for emergencies and the future,” a study found.

Forever-Occupation: Genocide, and profit: United Nations exposes corporate forces behind destruction of Palestine

Exhausted, Muhammad and his 12-year-old sister, Hala, sit outside their tent in Rafah. - UNICEF 

Forever-Occupation: Genocide and profit: Special Rapporteur’s report exposes corporate forces behind destruction of Palestine 03 July 2025

“In the past 21 months, while Israel’s genocide has devastated Palestinian lives and landscapes, the Tel Aviv stock exchange soared by 213 per cent (USD), amassing $225.7 billion in market gains—including $67.8 billion in the past month alone. For some, genocide is profitable.”

Only 1.5% of Gaza cropland left for starving Palestinians due to Israel’s war, UN says.

Bowen BBC: Israeli settlers intensify campaign to drive out West Bank Palestinians

Genocide: Israel, United States and apartheid regime

Pope Leo XIV leads the Angelus prayer in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, July 20, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi

“I appeal to the international community to observe humanitarian law and respect the obligation to protect civilians as well as the prohibition of collective punishment, the indiscriminate use of force, and the forced displacement of populations,” the pope added.

The shelling of the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza also damaged the church compound, where hundreds of Palestinians have been sheltering from the Israel-Hamas war, now in its 21st month. Israel expressed regret over what it described as an accident and said it was investigating.

An Israeli organisation has said, "The Israeli regime enacts in all the territory it controls, Israeli sovereign territory, East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, an apartheid regime."

"Apartheid was a system of racial segregation and discrimination enforced in South Africa from 1948 to 1994. It was a legal system that enforced racial segregation and political and economic discrimination against the non-white majority population. 

The system classified people into racial groups (white, black, colored, and Asian) and restricted their rights and opportunities based on their racial classification."

In a Six-Day War in 1967, Israel captured the Golan Heights, the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank, and gained sole control of Jerusalem.

Israel a "brutal colonial power" became an apartheid regime

Gaza: thousands may have perished under the rubble

Dr. Alaa al-Najjar left her 10 children at home on Friday when she went to work in the emergency room at the Nasser Medical Complex in southern Gaza.

 A British surgeon working in Nasser Hospital said he had operated on the doctor's surviving 11-year-old.

"Ahmad al-Farra, a doctor at the Nasser Medical Complex, told CNN that Dr. Najjar continued to work despite losing her children, while periodically checking on the condition of her husband and Adam."

BBC- Nearly 70% of Gaza war dead verified by UN are women and children.

"Israel has said it will establish 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, including the legalisation of outposts already built without government authorisation, after a security cabinet vote held in secret last week."

More than 50,000 killed in Gaza since Israel offensive began, Hamas-run ministry says.

The UN's humanitarian chief has said people in Gaza are being subjected to forced starvation by Israel. In an interview with the BBC, Tom Fletcher said he believed this had led to a change in the international response to Gaza.

Gaza subjected to forced starvation, top UN official tells BBC.

Apple from 1980: US and tax of American firms in Ireland

Martina Lyons was watched by Minister Gene Fitzgerald and Steve Jobs at the Apple facility at Hollyhill in 1980. Picture: Irish Examiner

In 1984, the Ford Motor Company's car assembly plant in Cork, Ireland, closed due to the lifting of import restrictions and increased international competition. This decision resulted in the loss of 800 jobs and the end of Ford's production in Ireland, which had begun in 1917.

Apple established its first international operations in Ireland in 1980, and a manufacturing plant in Cork, in the second city in the Republic of Ireland.

Apple in Ireland began in 1980 with a single manufacturing facility and 60 employees. Now the Irish payroll is about 6,000.

This move marked the company's first international manufacturing facility and played a significant role in Apple's global expansion.

Apple, first began operations at Hollyhill on the north side of the city in October 1980, just four years after the company was founded in California.

From 1956 to 1980, Ireland offered a zero tax rate to attract foreign companies, and eligible companies arriving in 1980 received tax holidays until 1990.

Eligible companies arriving in 1980 were given "tax holidays" until 1990. "Any multinational attracted into Ireland that was focusing on the export market paid 0 per cent corporation tax," said Barry O'Leary, a former chief executive of IDA Ireland (Industrial Development Authority).

Three US firms account for most Irish tax windfalls - Apple, Alphabet (Google), Microsoft

Dublin at night

The Irish economy expanded by a stunning 26.3% in 2015, compared to an expected rate of 7.8%. 

Foreign companies that switched their base to Ireland were included in the value of its corporate sector, pushing up the value of the state’s balance sheet.

There are about 970 US companies in Ireland, employing around 210,000 people.

Total employment was 2.78 million in December 2024.

These companies also contribute significantly to the Irish economy, spending over €41bn annually.

Many major US tech companies have a strong presence in Ireland, with some firms establishing their European headquarters there.  -

This month Apple announced that it planned to manufacture all the iPhones for the US market in India.

According to the International Data Corporation, the US accounted for about 28% of Apple’s 232.1mn global iPhone shipments in 2024.

In 2023 (published in mid-2024) the Irish Enterprise agency reported that €34.60 billion (Euros), in indigenous exports. There were no net data.

What is Ireland's exposure to the US economy and Trump's plans?

US reliant on China for essential goods - Plutocrats "running" government

The Policy Circle, which is based in India, says the US reliance on Chinese inputs spans 532 key product categories, including essential pharmaceuticals, consumer electronics, and rare earth elements — materials indispensable to defence, green tech, and digital innovation. 

"Beijing knows this, and has already weaponised its control over rare earths by placing American defence and tech firms on its export control list.

When a nation controls 72% of your rare earth imports, you do not pick tariff fights unless you are ready for economic masochism.

Nor is the impact of these tariffs confined to urban industries. Farmers in Trump’s heartland — soybean growers in the Midwest, poultry producers in the South — are once again collateral damage.

These are the very people who powered Trump’s rise in 2016. And they are hurting. American soybean exports to China have never recovered from the first wave of trade wars. Chinese buyers have moved to Brazil, where the grain is cheaper and the diplomacy less abrasive."

Why Trump Could Lose His Trade War With China

Opinion1| Why Trump Could Lose His Trade War With China.

The Times Opinion columnist discusses what he thinks Trump — and American policymakers  — misunderstand about China in the escalating trade war. "Credit Credit..."

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/15/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-thomas-friedman.html

The New York Times in a pice by Ezra Klein in a discussion Tom Friedman: "Thinks. We’re Getting China Dangerously Wrong".

 The Times Opinion columnist discusses what he thinks Trump — and American policymakers — misunderstand about China in the escalating trade war.

Milton Friedman (1912-2006) was a Nobel laureate in economics and senior research fellow at the Hoover Institution and served on President Ronald Reagan's Economic Policy Advisory Board. Margaret Thatcher was also a fan.

Leonard Read (1898-1983), founder of the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE), is best known for his essay "I, Pencil," which Milton Friedman used to illustrate the power of free markets and the invisible hand of the economy.

"Once, on a visit to China, a deputy minister asked, "Who in the America is in charge of materials distribution?" The question took me aback, yet it was natural. For it was almost inconceivable that a citizen from a command economy could understand how markets distribute materials among millions of people for thousands of uses untouched by political hands."

The countries that lend to America

Major foreign holders of United States treasury securities as of December 2024 (in billion U.S. dollars)

The Federal Reserve and U.S. Department of the Treasury say foreign countries held a total of 8.5 trillion U.S. dollars in U.S. treasury securities as of December 2024.

Of the total held by foreign countries, Japan has $1,059.8  and China held the greatest portions, with China holding 759 billion U.S. dollars in U.S. securities.

The Irish $336.2 in billion, may be related to American firms that are domiciled in Ireland.

The federal deficit

The federal deficit in 2024 was $1.8 trillion, equal to 6.4% of gross domestic product.

America is the sick man of the advanced world

U.S. healthcare spending per capita is almost twice the average of other wealthy countries

The average life expectancy in Western Europe is 83 years, while in the US it's 77 years.

Trump's America doesn't like foreigners

Europe highlights gender rules and entry risks and Finland's advisory, updated Tuesday, advises applicants to put their gender at birth. "If the applicant's recorded gender differs from their birth sex, US authorities may deny entry."

Several European countries, including Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Norway, have updated their travel advisories for the US, highlighting potential entry risks for transgender individuals and those with gender identity discrepancies, due to stricter US immigration measures.

'A hostile state': Why some travellers are avoiding the US

Trump signed an order on April 2, 2025, announcing global tariffs minus Russia 

Adrian Wooldridge of Bloomberg has written "If health means wealth, as the adage has it, then America’s economic future looks grim.

Traditionally, the U.S. has enjoyed a health premium. In the colonial era, American men were on average two to three inches taller than Europeans, according to military records, a fact that fascinates historical demographers because height is correlated with longevity, cognitive development and work capacity.

Today, a premium is turning into a deficit. American men are shorter on average than Northern European men, and the gap is getting bigger. Six in 10 Americans suffer from at least one chronic condition and 4 in 10 suffer from two."

"America is a sick society,” says William Galston in the Wall Street Journal. "Literally.”

Healthcare spending per capita is substantially higher in the US compared to Europe, yet the US lags behind on metrics like life expectancy and infant mortality.

Survival in the wealthiest U.S. quartile appeared to be similar to that in the poorest quartile in northern and western Europe.

The US is the sick man of the developed world.

Americans' living standards aren't nearly as good as they like to think they are.

Health expenditures per person in the U.S. were $12,555 in 2022, which was over $4,000 more than any other high-income nation. The average amount spent on health per person in comparable countries ($6,651) is about half of what the U.S. spends per person."

US personal savings are close to rock bottom

Personal Saving Rate - in 2024, the US was at 4.6%; 15.3% in the 20-country Euro Area, and 44.3% in China.

GDP per capita April 2025: Ireland at $107.24 but is fake and Є30 thousands is correct

IMF April 2025 GDP per capita, current prices: US dollars per capita

Switzerland 111. 72; Ireland 107 .24; Singapore 93. 96; Norway 90. 35; US 89. 68; Denmark 71. 97; Netherlands 70.61. 61; Australia 67. 98; Austria 61. 08; Sweden 59. 51; Germany 57. 91. Canada 55. 89; UK 54. 28; New Zeland 48. 23; Italy 41. 71; Spain 37: 36; Russia 15. 08 and others.

In 2023 (published in mid-2024) the Irish Enterprise agency reported that €34.60 billion (Euros), in indigenous exports. There were no net data.

In 2023, the European Union (population of 449 million) and the UK (population of 68 million) bought just about €10 million from indigenous firms in Ireland.

European Union at the start of 2024: "The highest relative share of foreign-born individuals within the total population was in Luxembourg (51.0% of the resident population), followed by Malta (30.8%), Cyprus (26.9%), Ireland (22.6%), Austria (22.1%), Sweden (20.6%) and Germany (20.2%). By contrast, foreign-born individuals represented less than 5% of the population in Poland (2.6% of its resident population on 1 January 2024), Romania (3.1%), Bulgaria (3.3%) and Slovakia (3.9%)."

The Irish population was at 5.4 million in April 2024.

Mainly American firms give the impression that Ireland's per capita GDP is the second highest in the world.

It is in line with Portugal's.

Amazon's Jeff Bezos gift of $40 million to Melania Trump; Donald Trump's crypto project netted at least $350 million

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau slammed the US president for launching a trade war against "their closest partner and ally, their closest friend," favoring “talking about working positively with Russia, appeasing Vladimir Putin, aligning with a murderous dictator.”

Trudeau says Trump’s "dumb" tariff trade war is designed to collapse the Canadian economy.

Trudeau also rejected Trump’s repeated taunts that Canada should cede its sovereignty and join the US: “That is never going to happen. We will never be the 51st state.”

The Financial Times says "Trump’s crypto project made at least $350mn from the launch of his memecoin, a windfall that is likely to fuel concerns over conflicts of interest arising from the token. 

Digital wallets owned by the entities running the scheme earned the money from sales of $TRUMP in the three weeks after it was launched in January, according to a Financial Times analysis of blockchain data."

New York CNN — "President Donald Trump established a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a stockpile of other digital assets through an executive order on Thursday, shortly before hosting a crypto summit at the White House."

The Treasury Department will set up an office to administer the reserve, which will be capitalized with Bitcoin (BTC) confiscated by the government as part of criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings, according to the order. “Bitcoin is the original cryptocurrency,” the order said. “Because there is a fixed supply of BTC, there is a strategic advantage to being among the first nations to create a strategic bitcoin reserve.”