Substantial growth in FDI in 2021, say IDA

IDA is completing construction of advanced building solutions in Monaghan and Sligo

There was substantial growth in Foreign Direct Investment in Ireland in 2021, with highest employment creation figures ever in a single year recorded despite the continued impact of Covid-19.

IDA Ireland, the inward investment promotion and development agency of the Irish Government say that numbers directly employed in multinational sector in Ireland reached 275,384 – the highest level ever.

There was substantial growth in FDI in 2021 compared with 2020, with more than 29,000 new jobs created, a net increase of almost 17,000 jobs year on year.

More than half (53%) - 133 of the 249 of investments won went to regional locations – with employment growth in every region of the country.

Some 104 of the 249 investments won in 2021 were new name investments, a better than anticipated new name performance considering the ongoing restrictions due to the pandemic.

Among those in the local region include Bionical Emas in Westmeath which announced plans to establish a European storage, distribution and labelling facility in Westmeath, initially creating 35 new jobs for the Midlands region at a 7,000 sq ft facility in Kilbeggan.

It also included Forklift-maker HIAB which announced it is to invest €50 million in a new factory in Dundalk, creating 100 new jobs; and VistaMed in Leitrim which is to create 100 jobs as part of a significant expansion at its facility in Carrick-on-Shannon.

Among the headline FDI wins for Ireland were plans announced by Amazon which will open its first state-of-the-art fulfilment centre in Dublin, creating 500 new permanent jobs to help meet customer demand.

Growth in regions was particularly buoyant with 53% - 133 projects of the 249 investments won going to regional locations and employment growth recorded in every region of the country.

In Q4 2021, IDA is completing construction of advanced building solutions in Monaghan and Sligo. IDA also has 4 other buildings under construction during Q4 in Limerick, Dundalk, Athlone and Carlow.

Two properties are due to commence construction in Q1 2022 in Waterford and Athlone. The remainder of the buildings on the IDA programme for Tralee, Drogheda, Letterkenny, Mullingar, Longford, Galway, Sligo, Castlebar and Cavan are at various stages of site selection, design or in the planning system and will commence following completion of these processes.

Job losses meanwhile remained at a relatively modest level relative to the size of the overall portfolio resulting in an extremely strong net employment growth this year – (16,826 net increase).

Martin Shanahan, CEO IDA Ireland said: “These 2021 results were achieved in an immensely challenging and volatile international environment. Ireland’s performance in attracting FDI to achieve these record results is testament to the work of the Agency’s teams in Ireland and around the world, to the success of the client companies that we partner with on a daily basis and to the support of Government.”

He said that despite the challenges faced by individual companies, to date FDI in Ireland has come through the pandemic relatively unscathed. “This is largely down to the sectors that IDA has targeted over the past decade – Technology, Pharma, Medical Technology, International Financial Services, Business services, Engineering and Food - those sectors that underpin a modern economy.”

FDI in Ireland has experienced staircase growth in employment terms for over a ten-year period linked to successful FDI strategies, however, Mr Shanahan says the development company cannot rest on our laurels. “Ireland has to do more to remain attractive in an extremely competitive global environment for FDI. IDA clients are embracing a green and digital recovery, and we must continue to focus on making Ireland an attractive place for talent and provide the necessary infrastructure and utilities that companies need to make it easy to set up and build their business in Ireland.”