Ireland is not more efficient a government; it was simply leeching off of the rest of Europe through a tax-evasive taxation regime that is now illegal. The gist of it was that companies could locate their European headquarters in Ireland for tax purposes, but then Ireland wouldn't actually tax the companies if they legally headquartered themselves in Bermuda. The latter part of this was the tax-evasive portion deemed illegal. Furthermore, Ireland didn't require the companies to actually move their management to Bermuda--it was sufficient to hold a board meeting once a year in Bermuda, and many of these companies were for practical purposes managed from London or New York.