Ms Joanne Richardson:

Last year was one of the strongest for investment in Ireland. The €30 billion that came into the country was greater than the amount US companies invested in Asia, including China, and this year 6,200 jobs will be created if one counts the five announcements made today. Some 70% of this investment has come from the existing base of countries. We should focus on retaining existing investments.

The Economist Intelligence Unit issued its annual report on foreign direct investment at the end of March. More than 315 US multinationals operating in the United States, Europe and Asia were surveyed and the report projects further investment of €7.7 billion and that 20,000 new jobs will be created by US companies by 2014. The projections are positive in a global context and Ireland remains well positioned thanks to our existing base and IDA Ireland’s focus on attracting newer companies for sales, marketing and support functions in Europe.

In regard to retaining investment, our corporation tax rate is critical, but the biggest issue concerns our skills base. Mr. O’Neill has been proactive on this issue during his presidency of the chamber. There is a big pull on global talent, particularly in the short term, and while good policies are being developed for the medium and longer term, we face an immediate need to recruit persons with particular skills in Ireland. We produce a work activation survey on 6 July every year to correspond with our 4 July event. On that date more than 2,500 positions were vacant across multiple sectors of industry and 53% of these positions will have to be filled from outside the country. That figure was higher a couple of years ago and, while we would like it to decrease further, companies are indicating the need for certain tactical positions and actions to be taken to address immediate skill requirements.