American business has answered Ireland’s economic calls to arms with record investment levels.

US investment in Ireland last year surged to new highs according to official figures just released.

The US Department of Commerce report, published on Tuesday, shows a massive rise in American investment as Ireland copes with the collapse of the Celtic Tiger.

The Irish Times reports that the value of all direct investment by US firms in Ireland stood at $188 billion at the end of last year.

The paper says that figures suggest the impact of Ireland’s EU-IMF bailout on American foreign direct investment has been negligible.

Ireland accounted for more than 8 per cent of the total stock of US FDI in Europe in 2011.

Half of US FDI is accounted for by holding companies with IT and chemicals the industries in which US firms invest most in Ireland.