Ireland can benefit from Brexit folly: banker

Ireland is now in a unique position to benefit from the "folly" of the Brexit vote in Britain, according to a leading banker in Ireland on Friday.

"Ireland is open for business, anchored in the European Union, and a very attractive location for inward investment. Even after Brexit, we forecast growth of over 3.0 percent next year," said Richard Pym, chairman of Ireland's Allied Irish Banks.

He made the remarks at the Association of European Journalists Congress in Kilkenny, a southeastern city in Ireland.

Allied Irish Banks is one of the "Big Four" commercial banks in Ireland.

"Unlike Ireland, the British government starts Brexit with its public finances in poor shape," he said.

He said Ireland would need to deliver infrastructure and housing improvements to encourage British firms to relocate and encourage even more foreign direct investment into the country, adding that his bank guaranteed it would support government initiatives in these areas.

Pym said that while he was optimistic about the Irish economy in the long term, he was more concerned about the economy of Northern Ireland.

"There, the state sector is large, the private sector small, and the economy is dependent on subsidies from London," he said.

Currently, British Prime Minister Theresa May's plans to bring Britain out of the European Union (EU) are being thrown into chaos.

On Thursday, the High Court in London ruled that parliament, and not May's government, should trigger the Article 50 mechanism to start the Brexit process. Endit