A new U.S. report released this week extols Ireland’s skill at attracting foreign investment and argues that it will continue to for the rest of 2010.

The report, complied by the Vale Columbia Centre on Sustainable International Investment in New York, ascribes the increase of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Ireland in 2009 and early 2010 to a number of persuasive factors.

Firstly, the report suggests that the lower cost of doing business in Ireland has increased the country's attractiveness to international investment.

Among other persuasive factors are the higher reinvestment by foreign companies of the profits they make in Ireland. Changes in business taxation in 2010 are also seen as a persuasive factor. And even the lower business costs as a result of the recession have encouraged foreign investors to set up there.

Acknowledging this the report states: "The current crisis has had the paradoxical effect of increasing Ireland’s attractiveness as a location for FDI."

Increased tax credits for research and development investment and the introduction of a payable credit are also cited as attractive factors.

The report adds that while the country offers tax advantages for holding companies, it is not, unlike some other destinations, seen as a tax haven, thus increasing the attractiveness of Ireland as a sustainable location.