- 179 investments approved in first six months of the year, up 37% on same period for 2024
- Research, development and innovation (RD&I) projects account for a quarter (24%) of the total reflecting growing recognition of Ireland as a location for innovation and research
- 51% of all investments year to date have been into regional locations in line with IDA Ireland’s strategic objective to maximise regional growth
- Performance reflects focus on growth and competitiveness through digitalisation, innovation, talent development and sustainability
- Ireland well positioned to compete globally for emerging opportunities across sectors of strategic growth
Since the beginning of the year, there have been 179 investments by global companies into Ireland, a 37% increase on the same period last year, that are expected to deliver cutting edge R&D, strengthen our talent proposition, drive sustainable change, and lead to the creation of over 10,000 jobs. Notably, 52 of these investments will be new or first-time investments into the country, while 43 are research, development and innovation (RD&I) projects, reflecting Ireland’s growing international reputation as a location for cutting edge innovation. 41 investments will be expansions from existing client companies growing and further embedding their operations here. In addition, as companies seek to drive sustainable change, there has been an increase in the number of investments focused on carbon reduction and energy efficiency with 34 investments since January being made across the areas of green capital and sustainability. Of the total number of investments in the year to date, 91 (51%) have been into regional locations outside of Dublin.
Global companies at the cutting-edge of their industries continue to select Ireland as their location of choice from which to grow and expand their international business. Stability and access to world class talent, coupled with the country’s position as a strategic hub for technological innovation, are amongst the primary reasons behind corporate decisions to locate here, with companies such as Squarespace, the design-driven platform that helps entrepreneurs build brands has announced the creation of over 120 new jobs in Dublin; world-leading health data company Datavant, who opened its global R&D centre in Galway that is to employ up to 125 people; and digital entertainment company Sony Interactive Entertainment, who announced its plans to hire 100 employees in Dublin, amongst those having chosen to invest in Ireland for the first time.
Other companies this year have taken decisions to invest significantly in their existing Irish operations. These include healthcare company GE HealthCare, who is investing €132 million in expanding and upgrading its Cork facility; Ericsson, who announced its investment of €200 million into pioneering research, development and innovation (RD&I) in Athlone; CLS, whose €9 million investment is to deliver a site-wide upskilling programme in Ireland; IBM, whose expansion in Waterford is to create 75 high-quality engineering jobs that will support its European and global mainframe business; and global Japanese pharmaceutical firm Astellas, who announced a series of investments totalling €129m over three years that will focus on building sustainability, research and development at its three sites in Tralee, Killorglin and Damastown.
In its Annual Report for 2024, published today, IDA Ireland recognises the current uncertain global economic context and notes that the coming years will be marked by change and turbulence. The agency also highlights the main challenges in executing Ireland’s infrastructure plans over the next five years, and the need to ensure continued competitiveness across capacity, cost, and regulation. The priority areas for IDA Ireland are housing, energy, water, grid, transport infrastructure, and the planning and regulatory system. While there has been progress made, continued focus on, and acceleration of delivery, will be crucial if Ireland is to make substantial improvements. IDA Ireland welcomes the strong commitment of Government to addressing these challenges as laid out in the Programme for Government and demonstrated in the development of a national Competitiveness and Productivity Action Plan. The focus now has to be on execution of these plans.
IDA Ireland also highlights increased global competition for FDI as more countries compete for fewer investments and the scale and impact of projects grows even greater. However, against this backdrop and, as reflected in the government’s White Paper on Enterprise 2022-2030, there are new opportunities emerging. With its strong foundation of global companies, world-class talent base and exceptional reputation for research, development and innovation, Ireland is well positioned to secure future emerging opportunities. This goes to the heart of IDA Ireland’s new five-year strategy Adapt Intelligently: A Strategy for Sustainable Growth and Innovation 2025-2029 which identifies four growth drivers - AI and Digitalisation, Semiconductors, Sustainability, and Health - that will enable opportunities across the agency’s key sectors of Life Sciences, Financial Services, Technology, Engineering and High Value Manufacturing.
Speaking of the results Minister for Enterprise, Tourism & Employment Peter Burke said, “I am pleased to see the positive trends in the volume of Foreign Direct Investment so far this year. They show Ireland retains its attractiveness as a competitive location for companies seeking a stable and cutting-edge environment from which to grow their business. There is a continued momentum within the sector, as described in the IDA annual report for 2024, and I commend the agency for its work. Irish competitiveness will be key to sustaining this FDI momentum.”
IDA Ireland CEO, Michael Lohan said, “Today’s figures demonstrate Ireland’s continued attractiveness as a trusted partner and a proven investment location, speaking to our many strengths in areas such as innovation and talent as well as our stable, pro-enterprise business landscape. It also points to our resilience in the face of continuing global economic uncertainty.
In February of this year, we launched IDA Ireland’s five-year strategy to 2029, Adapt Intelligently, outlining four key goals - to strengthen long term investment, drive sustainable change, scale cutting edge innovation and maximise regional opportunity. I am very pleased to see significant investment levels reflective of our commitment to these goals which also reflect the strategic growth drivers we have identified in our strategy, namely Digitalisation & AI, Semiconductors, Sustainability and Health.
IDA Ireland continues to partner with new and existing clients to support them in their investment endeavours here, to help their global competitiveness, and to deliver economic impact across all regions of the country. None of this can happen without the support of the Irish Government through the Department of Enterprise, Tourism & Employment, the contribution and commitment of our many stakeholders and partners, and our team in Ireland and overseas, all working to position Ireland as the premier location for FDI.”
Launching the 2024 Annual Report, IDA Ireland Chairman, Feargal O'Rourke said, “It gives me great pleasure to report that 2024 was another good year for FDI in Ireland. For decades, Ireland has promoted its political, policy and institutional stability as important aspects of our offering to FDI. The results in the Annual Report, coupled with today’s half year results, is evidence that in a turbulent world, this stability now stands out as a very attractive feature and, I have no doubt, has contributed to the positive place we find ourselves in. I’d like to pay tribute to our CEO Michael Lohan and all the team in IDA that have contributed to this result. I’d also like to take the opportunity thank my fellow board members for their important contribution to our new five year strategy “Adapt Intelligently” which is already bearing fruit”.
IDA Ireland’s Annual Report 2024 is available for download here.
