Official: Cork best at making money

A NEW study has gone a longway to confirming something that Corkonians have believed for a long time: that the Rebel county is, in fact, the real Irish capital – at least when it comes to generating revenue.

The Eurostar study showed that, per-capita, Cork workers generate €105,000 annually, €9,000 more than those in Dublin, which is generally regarded as the driver of the Irish economy.

In fact, Cork and London were the only two of 48 EU capitals and second cities surveyed in the study to generate more than €100,000 per worker each year – with Cork beating the UK capital into top spot.

The study reported that the main reason Cork financially outstripped the capital was due to high number of prestigious multinational companies, such as Apple and Pfizer operating in the city and its environs.

WHILE the Rebel County may play second fiddle to Dublin in the eyes of the rest of the world, Corkonians have never had any doubt about where the real capital of Ireland is.

A new study by Eurostat has gone a long way to confirming their suspicions, revealing that Cork workers actually generate more revenue annually per-capita than those in Dublin.

It showed that Cork workers generate €105,000 per person annually, €9,000 more than those in Dublin, the city generally regarded as Ireland’s financial driver, where the figure stands at €96,000.

In fact the report revealed that Cork workers generate the highest amount of revenue per person in both the capital and second cities of the 24 EU countries included within the study.

Cork and London were the only two of the 48 cities in the study to generate more than €100,000 in revenue per head of population each year – with Cork narrowly beating the British capital into top spot.

The report said that while on the whole capital cities play an influential role in their respective national economies, there were only three EU states, Germany, Italy and Ireland, where the capital failed to record the highest level of GDP per person employed.

In the case of Ireland, the report found that Cork financially outstripped the capital, mainly due of the high level of prestigious multinational companies such as Apple and Pfizer operating in the city and its immediate environs.

“Although Dublin recorded the second highest level of GDP per person employed among EU capitals ( just behind London), there was one metropolitan region in Ireland with a higher level of productivity, namely Cork,” read the report.

“It is home, among others, to a number of pharmaceutical and information technology multinationals,” it added.

The report went on to say that Cork was among several metropolitan areas within the EU that are characterised as what were described as being “engines of economic growth”.

“In particular as leading producers of technological innovation,” it read.

The report also showed that when not working Cork people are well able to utilise their spare time – most notably in front of the silver screen.

The study showed that Cork was among only three EU Cities where the average number of cinema visits each year per person went into double figures.

The highest was Luxembourg (11.8 trips per-year), followed by Cork (10.7 trips) and the Belgian city of Mons (10.2 trips).