700 US companies now located in Ireland as direct investment soars

Figures reveal how American corporations continued to invest in the Irish Republic even during the recession

Ireland has benefited from $277bn (182bn) of US direct foreign investment in the past two decades - gaining more from American firms than Brazil, Russia, India and China combined.

The figures from the American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland go back to 1990 and show corporations continued to cross the Atlantic even during the dark years of the recent recession.