Mr. Paul Sweetman:

Being a member of the EU has been incredibly important for Ireland in terms of trying to enhance our capacities and competitive advantages. In areas like developing talent and skills, the funding we have received from Europe has been incredibly powerful. Being a part of the EU has been incredibly important to Irish companies as they invest within the US. On the flip side, one of our biggest competitive advantages for US companies investing here is that we are the gateway to the EU. We have common law jurisdiction, English is the spoken language and we are the gateway to the EU. These are the things that we hear as some of the top reasons for companies investing here.