1.) Expand Bank Credit
Ireland’s over-reliance on foreign investment is premised on the assumption that “there is not enough money in Ireland.” Thus, Ireland must make itself dependent on others instead of “ourselves alone.” Is this true?
There’s plenty of money in Ireland; the way to evaluate that is to look at Ireland’s bank credit to deposit ratio: 57 percent lower than Germany’s, 59 percent lower than the Netherlands’, 65 percent lower than France’s, 75 percent lower than Sweden’s, 78 percent lower than Norway’s, and 86 percent lower than Denmark’s. Ireland has the second lowest recorded ratio in Europe.
2.) Invest in Manufacturing
Today, one sector of particular importance is semiconductors. Ireland already has a significant industrial base thanks to Intel. This makes Ireland the second largest exporter of semiconductors in Europe (right behind Germany). It is also helped by China being a great buyer which makes up about 40 percent of Irish semiconductor exports.
3.) Unleash Fossil Fuels
Any manufacturing growth will have to be driven by an expansion of fossil fuels. There’s no getting around this reality. China rapidly developed its economy by embracing fossil fuels.
Ireland traditionally sourced all of its natural gas from its offshore fields like Kinsale Head and Corrib. In 2021, Ireland banned all new oil and gas exploration and drilling citing its concern for climate change. As the existing national supply gets depleted it is estimated that by 2030 Ireland will be over 90% reliant on the United Kingdom for natural gas imports and eventually 100%.
The ban, led by the Green Party’s Eamon Ryan, didn’t actually do anything to stop the extraction of natural gas, it just shifted it to the UK.
The most tangible prospect for new Irish extraction is the Barryroe field. Barryroe is 50 km off the south coast of Ireland at about 100 meters in depth. It has been considered one of the largest undeveloped oil and gas discoveries in Europe. Notably, it is Ireland’s first commercial oil discovery too. The Barryroe field is estimated to contain 300 million barrels of oil and 5.9 billion cubic meters of gas.
I'm afraid expulsion is the only answer. It is the opinion of the entire staff that Dexter is criminally insane!