4/8  BIS central bankers' speeches  As a typical small open economy, Ireland can be strongly influenced by global factors outside of its control.
This vulnerability, combined with a domestic credit fuelled property bubble, contributed to a severe downturn in Ireland from 2008 although exports also played a large role in the ensuing recovery.14 Increasing integration with the EU has also been a defining feature for Ireland in recent decades, probably illustrated most vividly by the adoption of the common currency in 1999.