Over 210,000 Employed By Foreign Owned Companies In Ireland

More than 210,000 people are employed in foreign owned companies in Ireland, according to the latest figures from IDA Ireland, the Irish Government agency responsible for attracting foreign direct investment to Ireland.

The figure surpasses the overall five-year target of 209,000, which was set in 2015 in IDA Ireland's Winning: Foreign Direct Investment 2015-2019 strategy.

IDA Client Employment grew by 5.3% in 2017, against the national average of 2.3%.

That strategy set targets for the creation of jobs in Ireland over a five year period from 2015-2019 – this target was itself a 40% uplift on the previous strategy from 2010 - 2014.

Martin Shanahan, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of IDA, said: "There are 210,443 people going to work in foreign direct investment firms every day in Ireland, and we know the knock-on employment impact on the economy is much greater than this. We have achieved this figure two years ahead of target. The targets that were set were hugely ambitious at the time, and I would like to pay tribute to the companies that have placed their confidence in Ireland, to my colleagues in IDA Ireland who fight to win these jobs on a daily basis - they have worked tirelessly to achieve these numbers and also to all of those in the public and private sector who assist us in that effort.

"The high level of investments won remained stable in 2017 with 237 new investments secured by IDA during the year. The number of new name investments increased to 111 from 99 in the previous year.

"The strong net job creation performance of 10,684 additional jobs in Ireland shows the resilience of the Irish offering where investors continue to value talent, track record, and a stable regulatory environment."

Heather Humphreys TD, Ireland's Minister for Business, Enterprise & Innovation added: "These results demonstrate that the level of Foreign Direct Investment in Ireland has never been better, and I would like to pay tribute to the ongoing dedicated work of the IDA team.

"Ireland may be approaching full employment, and we may now be seeing stronger domestic economic activity, but the Government won't lose sight of how important the lifeblood of FDI continues to be for our country.

"A key priority of mine, which I know the IDA shares, is growing FDI into the regions. Coming from a rural background, I know how beneficial a new investment can be to areas outside Dublin, particularly in the context of Brexit.

"The IDA is already making real headway in this regard, and I look forward to working closely with the team and across Government to further attract FDI into Regional locations in 2018."

Martin Shanahan, CEO of IDA said:"The 2017 figures are consistent with a pattern of extremely strong job creation amongst IDA Client companies in recent years. 19,851 new jobs were created over the course of the year – resulting in 10,684 of a net gain in jobs for the year.

"To put this in context, less than ten years ago, across 2008 and 2009, Ireland lost over 35,000 FDI jobs. This is a salutary reminder that we can take nothing for granted in the foreign investment world – all jobs must be fought for and won against increasing international competition.

"In the last three years alone, IDA Ireland has exceeded the total net increase in jobs targeted in its  five-year Strategy."

(MH/LM)