Dublin death for City finance careers?

Dublin's financial services firms are certainly eager to hire bankers with experience of working in the City of London. But is a move to the Emerald Isle always a retrograde step?

One person to ask might be Mike Perrick, a former head of foreign exchange institutional sales for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Bank of America, who recently returned to Dublin, according to FX Week.

Perrick, unfortunately, was nowhere to be found, but recruiters were adamant that a return to Dublin need not mean career death.

James Hayes, manager of the banking and financial services divisions at Robert Walters, says, "Moving back to Dublin is not a step down - it is an adjustment."

Hayes says Irish-based institutions are so keen to hire people with overseas experience they will set up entire business areas to house them: "Even where no opening exists, institutions will create positions for an experienced professional. They'll establish new divisions for the right people."

"Dublin loves London skills - put that up in lights," confirms Brendan Murphy, managing director of Dublin-based Osborne Recruitment. He says the only downside is that salaries in Dublin are 20% to 30% lower than in London, and the large City bonuses of recent years are likely to be considerably smaller.

Fortunately, most bankers coming to Ireland aren't doing so to make their fortune. Hayes concludes, "When they have families they move back to Ireland because they want a better work/life balance."