Professor Stephen Kinsella:

That is a possibility if the contracting is got wrong. The State is contracting with a private entity and the latter can essentially do what it likes. There is always a risk involved in that. Fundamentally, however, it is about societal learning. If the resource can be used to figure out how to build the capacity oneself, the nation will be insulated against the changes that happen, the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Things go bad, times change and technologies evolve, and all of a sudden it could be like 2009 in Limerick with Dell having left. Happily for the people of Limerick, Dell has come back. There are more people working in the plant than there were before, but the people and functions are different. I am glad Dell is back but it would be much better if we had our own multinationals. The workforce would be better off overall if we were able to spread the knowledge around the domestic sector in a much more egalitarian way.