Press release
IDA Ireland achieves all targets in ‘Winning – Foreign Direct Investment 2015-2019’ Strategy
From Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment
Published on
Last updated on
Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys and IDA Ireland, the Irish Government agency responsible for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) to Ireland, today announced that employment levels in its client companies have now reached 245,096 - the highest ever number employed in the multinational sector, exceeding targets set by Government contained in IDA Ireland’s Strategy – Winning: Foreign Direct Investment 2015-2019.
The results announced today show another strong performance in 2019, which saw 250 investments made with 21,844 jobs created in FDI companies in the final year of IDA Ireland’s current strategy. The net gain was 13,867 additional jobs.
| Category | Results 2018 (Announced Jan 2019) | Results 2019 |
| Total Employment | 229,057 | 245,096 |
| Job Gains | 22,785 | 21,844 |
| Job Losses | -8,745 | -7,977 |
| Net Employment Change | 14,040 | 13,867 |
Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys TD said:
"2019 was another very positive year for foreign direct investment in this country. The record level of employment represents a strong vote of confidence in our economy by international investors. It demonstrates too that Ireland’s economic strengths – particularly our first-class workforce and pro-enterprise policy environment – remain highly attractive to multinational companies.
"The regional impact that FDI is having in Ireland is especially positive. The government has made regional development an absolute priority and that commitment has produced real results. The ambitious target of an increase of investment in every region of 30%-40% has now been met. We now have more people employed by IDA companies outside Dublin than ever before. Our focus in the coming period will be growing those numbers even further and ensuring that the benefits of FDI continue to be felt right across the country.
"It is important that we do not take our continuing FDI success for granted. All of the investment projects, which deliver these much-welcomed jobs all over Ireland, are the product of intensive work. The challenge – particularly if international market conditions become more difficult in the years ahead – is to maintain Ireland’s competitiveness and our attractiveness to overseas firms. That’s exactly what the government is doing through Future Jobs Ireland, the whole of Government plan to prepare our businesses and workers for the future, and we will continue to work hard to ensure that this proves to be the case.
Martin Shanahan, CEO of IDA Ireland said:
"Foreign Direct Investment continues to be a substantive driver of the economy."
The benefit spread to the wider Irish economy can be seen in the expenditure by IDA clients which totalled €21.5 billion[1], an increase of 11%, and is made up of:
FDI exports increased by 14% to €218.7 billion accounting for 68% of national exports.
Capital expenditure increased by 8% in the year to €5.9 billion with the majority of that spend in Life Sciences and Technology.
There were 18 first time new R&D investment approvals for IDA client companies in 2019. The R&D staff total stands at 18,834, up 11%. The client spend on in-house R&D was €2.2 billion in 2018, up 10% with a further €1.4 billion spent on outsourced R&D.
"Employment growth in 2019 was 6% compared to 2.4% nationally and IDA Ireland clients now account directly for 10.5% of national employment. We have seen employment growth across all regions and sectors. Over the lifetime of our current strategy we have won 1,209 investments in total; 562 of which are new name investments, 400 were expansions by established companies and 247 were RD&I investments, an uplift of 134% on our target and resulting in 112,327 jobs being created. That speaks to a continued confidence in Ireland’s investment proposition as a stable and reliable location for global investors, evidenced by the number of new name companies who invested here in 2019 – 125 of the 250 investments won. 88 investments made last year were expansions by established companies, demonstrating their considerable commitment to Ireland. Indeed longevity, resilience and commitment are the hallmark of multinational companies in Ireland; one third of MNCs have been here for 20 years now, with others operating successfully for 25, 30 and more years. That longevity has been of enormous benefit to the national and regional economies. Fortunately, job losses continue to be historically low and in fact job maintenance is at an all-time high."
On regional investment Martin Shanahan said:
"54,868 jobs were created outside of Dublin over the past five years leading to 33,118 additional direct jobs (net) on the ground in regions at the end of this strategy. 110 investments were won for regions in 2019 with 5,368 net jobs created. Every region hit the five-year strategy targets of a 30% uplift in investment we set out to achieve and three regions – the Mid West, Mid East and South East exceeded 40% of targets. Investments in the Border region increased threefold since the outset of the strategy. This is clear evidence that our deliberate and focused strategy of targeting investment for regions is paying off. That includes our Regional Property Programme which has delivered seven of 11 planned advance building solutions – technological or office buildings – to offer investors attractive turnkey building solutions in regional locations. All seven of the buildings completed are now occupied by businesses, demonstrating the success of this strategy of stepping in to the market where we see opportunity and can secure clients when the necessary properties aren’t being provided by the private sector."
IDA Ireland has a deliberate strategy of source market diversification. In 2019, 63% of investment came from the US and while it remains the engine of jobs growth, the amount of investment from other countries grew faster - from 30% in 2014 to 37% in 2019.
On the outlook for FDI Martin Shanahan said:
"The FDI performance over the past five years has been unprecedented. My expectation is that this strong performance will continue into the first half of 2020. As we finalise our strategy for the period 2020-2024, which will be launched soon, we observe significant downside risk in the marketplace over the next five-year period. Those risks emanate from the possibility of an economic correction in key source markets, continued trade tensions, subdued global economic growth and from domestic challenges related to competitiveness and the carrying capacity of the economy. We have developed our new strategy to, as far as possible, withstand the challenges of global political and economic uncertainty. Our value proposition continues to be strong, we are well positioned as a gateway location to Europe and are committed members of the EU. We are business friendly and supportive. Talent continues to be an important asset. Being competitive is more important than ever for our client companies to continue to grow and develop and as Ireland expands its footprint across the globe, seeking out new markets to win investment."
ENDS
Contact:
Ellen Lynch, Press and PR Manager, IDA Ireland, Ellen.lynch@ida.ie , 087 4112084
Gillian Kelly, Press and PR Executive, IDA Ireland, Gillian.kelly@ida.ie , 087 1789893
IDA Ireland’s job creation performance is measured by an annual labour force survey, commissioned independently via the Strategic Policy Division of the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation. The results are compiled directly from responses given by IDA client companies on their current headcount numbers. This survey measures people in employment in IDA client companies at the end of the survey period only. The survey does not measure, or count, future employment intentions or future job creation plans issued as part of press announcements.
Uncertainties about the outcome of the Brexit process and the unprecedented nature of the UK’s exit can make forecasting economic impacts challenging. Areas of concern include future use of land bridge and EU-UK data flows. Regulatory divergence and resulting non-tariff barriers would be among the biggest contributors to additional trade costs and GDP impacts.
IDA Ireland has had close to 90 individual Brexit-related investments with over 5,500 associated jobs approved since the UK’s EU referendum in June 2016. There are others where it was one of a number of considerations in choosing Ireland as a location to invest.
Post Brexit, Ireland’s economic and political stability, along with a continued commitment to the EU, is a core part of Ireland’s value proposition to foreign investors. As companies seek Brexit solutions that will impose the lowest possible additional costs and the least possible disruption to trade, Ireland offers a base from which to sustain access to the Single Market, to minimise uncertainty and to grow their business.
Dublin remains the most popular choice for financial services firms to relocate post-Brexit according to EY’s most recent Financial Services Brexit Tracker, with 28 firms having committed to relocating staff or operations to the Irish capital since the Referendum. Dublin is closely followed by Frankfurt (21), Luxembourg (19) and Paris (18). The EY Brexit tracker identified talent, trade, technology and tax as the key themes driving FDI trends in 2018.
IDA Ireland will continue to work to identify and exploit any and all opportunities to win Brexit related investment for Ireland.
As part of IDA Ireland’s 2015-2019 strategy, IDA’s Property Division identified a significant deficit in the availability of quality property outside Dublin. Addressing this shortage has been the focus of a five-year regional capital investment programme to deliver 11 Advance Building Solutions (ABS), either technological or office buildings, on IDA lands in a number of regional locations across Ireland, including Limerick, Sligo, Castlebar, Carlow, Tralee, Waterford, Galway, Athlone and Dundalk. Seven of the nine buildings completed to date are now occupied or at an advanced stage of lease execution. The second phase of the programme is now being rolled out and includes another 11 building projects and a number of medium and large-scale infrastructure projects. Six major building projects are scheduled to commence in 2020. The programme is funded by Government capital funds and IDA property funds.
The competitive nature of the global FDI environment has intensified significantly in recent years. It is internationally proven that a proactive, functional property and infrastructural ecosystem is a key driver and differentiator in winning, sustaining and supporting FDI. In this context, IDA Ireland needs to remain competitive in the global FDI market and therefore, one of the main objectives of the current Property Strategy is to ensure that there are serviced sites with appropriate zoning, planning and required infrastructure to attract and secure FDI investment. IDA Ireland has 36 business and technology parks and 12 strategic sites across the country. The 12 strategic sites are large scale landbanks with high intensity utility infrastructure that were acquired and are developed with the aim of attracting large scale utility intensive investment. IDA’s strategy in acquiring and preparing strategic sites for the future aims to ensure our property offering is aligned to IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland client needs, organisational objectives and balanced regional development.
IDA Ireland’s most recent site acquisition is a c.85.5 Ha site in Newbridge, Co. Kildare. The current property investment programme also includes the delivery of numerous enabling infrastructure projects across the existing portfolio of business and technology parks and strategic sites.
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Facebook:
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Johnson & Johnson Vision:
Johnson & Johnson Vision announced the addition of approximately 100 jobs & investment of c.€100M in the expansion of its manufacturing operations at its site in the National Technology Park in Plassey, Co. Limerick.
JRI America:
The technology company supporting the Japanese Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, announced plans to expand its technology centre in Tralee, Co Kerry, creating 100 new jobs over five years.
Indeed:
Indeed announced the creation of 600 additional roles at its Dublin-based headquarters for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), stemming from its expansion into its new Capital Dock HQ.
Allstate Sales Group Inc.:
Allstate Sales Group Inc. announced the establishment of two software development and CAD Support centres in Waterford and Sligo, creating 100 jobs in each location in the company’s first investment outside the US.
Abbott:
Abbott in Donegal announced the expansion of its existing manufacturing facility in Donegal town, resulting in the creation of c.500 new jobs over the next number of years.
Edwards Lifesciences:
Edwards Lifesciences announced plans to establish a manufacturing facility in Limerick, creating 600 jobs when fully operational. The €160M investment is the company’s largest manufacturing investment in the EU. The facility is under construction at the National Technology Park in Limerick.
MSD:
MSD announced plans to construct a second manufacturing facility at its existing site in Carlow, creating 170 new jobs. The announcement followed the company’s announcement in May 2017 that it would create 330 new jobs and invest €280 million in its manufacturing facilities in Carlow and Cork, and in February of 2018 that it would create 350 new jobs as part of a new biotech facility called MSD Biotech in Dublin.
VoxPro:
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WuXi Biologics:
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Genesys:
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Indeed:
Indeed announced expansion plans for its Dublin-based headquarters for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), adding 500 new employees over the next two years.
Graebel Companies Inc.:
Graebel announced the creation of 125 new jobs in a EMEA Financial Shared Services and Operations Centre in Dundalk, Co Louth.
Microsoft:
Microsoft announced plans to hire 600 people, significantly increasing its commitment to Ireland. Following the selection of Dublin as the location for one of four global Inside Sales Centres, 500 new roles were created with immediate effect, with a further 100 created across its existing operations.
Regeneron:
Regeneron announced a further expansion of its Limerick Industrial Operations and Product Supply (IOPS) bioprocessing campus with an additional 300 jobs and investment of €89.8 million bringing the total expected employment at the site to 800 people and total investment to €673.5 million.
YapStone:
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Wasdell Group:
Wasdell Group announced the establishment of a pharmaceutical packaging, testing and distribution facility in Dundalk, creating 300 jobs over five years.
HubSpot:
HubSpot announced the opening of their new Dublin office, committing to hiring an additional 320 Dublin-based employees over three years. In order to accommodate that growth, the company officially opened its new office space at One Dockland Central.
OPKO Health Inc.:
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Amazon:
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First Data:
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Wayfair:
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Oracle:
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Pramerica Systems Ireland:
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Northern Trust:
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Apple:
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Bausch + Lomb:
Bausch + Lomb announced plans to invest €75 million in extra manufacturing capacity at its Waterford facility generating an expected 125 additional jobs.
Workday:
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Agora Publishing:
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[1] CSO Labour Force Survey for Q3 2019.