Executive remuneration in Ireland

There is little doubt that Ireland's economy has been affected by the international economic crisis. However, in spite of the challenges faced by the Irish economy, many multinational organisations are still setting up businesses in Ireland for the first time or investing in and further developing their existing Irish businesses. In IBM's 2011 Global Location Trends Report, Ireland was ranked number one for value of investment projects and second for inward investment per capita. In a speech to a recent gathering of US investors, former president Bill Clinton noted that major corporations would be "nuts" not to take advantage of this "unique time" to invest in Ireland due to low property values and a highly educated workforce. In recent months large multinationals like Apple, SAP, Cisco and Allergan Pharmaceuticals have announced plans to expand their operations in Ireland and these are not isolated cases. Ireland has an enviable list of multinational companies across many sectors that have established significant presence in Ireland. The topic of executive remuneration has become an increasingly complex area. In this regard, there have been a heightened focus on executive packages and bonus arrangements for example in the UK. Also recent developments in regulation, media scrutiny and broader stakeholder pressures are all influencing developing global trends which will impact on multinationals operating in Ireland and elsewhere.