About six years ago, I was the CEO of a company that provided offshore application-related services from a great location - Galway, Ireland. The folks at the Industrial Development Agency for Ireland were of tremendous help in negotiating an attractive program for tax-favorable operations.
We had a great team of bright, young software engineers. And, our clients - mostly from large, American companies - absolutely loved the opportunity to visit Ireland to review their projects.
Two problems emerged. First, many of the larger technology companies in the software and telecommunications sectors really moved into Ireland with force - essentially creating wage escalation as they competed for a relatively small population of engineers.
Second, India arrived with demographics that dwarfed Ireland in short order. The accents are different, but the language was the same. India just has the sheer mass required to serve the appetite of a world looking for abundant skills.
The golf courses were nicer in Ireland, however.
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