Now they could be dragging us back into the mire. But while the perfidious nature of multinational manufacturing may encourage companies to fly to lower cost bases when the price of production gets just too high in the western world, the fact remains that our economy will, in the future, most likely be based around services.

It is perhaps fortunate then that, since the last few ticks of the dark days of the 1980s, this country has been establishing itself as a centre for excellence for the financial services industry - perhaps the highest value-added services in the business world.

Before the IFSC, before funds and investment banks, financial professionals had few options. They could go into retail banking, or they could go abroad. And many Irish luminaries blazed spectacular trails across the financial markets of New York and, especially, London.

But the advent of the Emerald City on the banks of the Liffey created a new haven for our finance and business graduates, and helped to spawn a healthy financial services sector which is both mature and sophisticated - and which is offering rewards and remuneration which are up there with some of the more established financial hubs.

"Even in the last couple of years, the funds and financial services industries have grown significantly, " said Helen Roberts, managing director of Centre Point Group, a leading provider of recruitment and HR services to the banking and financial sectors. "There is now tremendous scope within the industry, not only in terms of premium salaries, but also in the opportunities for individuals within the industry."

The fact that there are greater opportunities available can be seen in the calibre of candidates who are applying for jobs within the Irish financial sector - many of whom will be returning from successful careers in London or elsewhere.

"Five years ago, people would not have considered the possibility of returning to Dublin, " said Roberts. "But salaries, packages and scope have caught up to such a point that they are now comparable with those available in other markets."

Well, perhaps they have not quite caught up yet, mainly due to the type of work available in Ireland, which tends to be back office and administration type.

London, for example, has a bonus culture and an investment banking culture that Dublin cannot replicate - and hence, some younger professionals working in front office positions may not be coming home, electing instead for the quick burn, large package careers available in The City.

Still, even the top performers may well elect to return to Ireland in their forties, having done their time and made their money - and most of these will return to a city that is very different from the one which they left.

"Especially because of the growth of the industry, there is a shortage of people for positions within the funds sector, " said Roberts. "There is a large pool of well educated, well trained Irish people, but in addition to the opportunities available in Ireland, recruiters are coming here to entice these people to different employment markets, in places such as the Channel Islands, Luxembourg and Switzerland."

There is a tendency to see Irish opportunities in terms of the funds industry, but that would be to overlook the exceptional growth of specialist areas such as corporate finance, corporate banking, treasury, investments, insurance and reinsurance. These high value sectors are very much graduate-driven, as would be expected. But Roberts points to opportunities for nongraduates which have been created by the growth of the funds industry.

"Front end, trading and corporate finance are still areas where it is very important to have a degree in economics, finance, business or accountancy, " she said. "But on the operational side, and in the back offices, things are more flexible, and recruitment can be more experience driven."

So even non-graduates who are looking for a job in finance can start as a fund administrator on salaries of around Euro26,000 - not huge, but given the nature of the work, regular reviews mean that the figure could be up to about Euro30,000 within a year and significantly higher into the future. Non-graduates would be expected to have some experience in, say, retail banking, but instead of degrees, many firms are now looking to attributes such as attitude and attention to detail, as well as basic numeracy skills. Which, of course, someone in finance would be expected to have as a basic competency, wouldn't they?