Written answers

Wednesday, 4 November 2015

Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

Foreign Direct Investment

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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66. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he remains satisfied regarding the extent to which Ireland remains attractive as an investment location for foreign direct investment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38577/15]

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I am satisfied that Ireland continues to perform well in the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) market. FDI in-flow to Europe has slowed in recent years but Ireland remains a strong attraction. There were 197 investments in 2014, equating to a 20% increase on 2013.

In its mid-year statement IDA Ireland announced that Ireland continued to win a strong share of global investment for Dublin and regional locations in the first half of 2015, despite intense international competition and economic uncertainty in Europe. In the first half of the year, IDA Ireland approved 110 investment projects, which will lead to creation of 9,000 direct jobs this year and over future years as the companies gradually roll out their investment plans. In the same period in 2014, there were 100 projects leading to 8,000 jobs. Among the companies publicly announcing investment plans in Ireland in the first half on 2015 include Apple, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Northern Trust, Facebook, Agora Publishing, Viagogo, Zimmer, ABEC Inc, and Zalando.

My Department’s Policy Statement on Foreign Direct Investment, which was published at the end of July 2014, sets out the strategic direction for FDI to 2020 and the key actions needed to enhance Ireland’s attractiveness and business environment in the context of intensified international competition for investment and talent. From the Policy Statement, IDA’s new 5 year IDA Strategy “Winning - Foreign Direct Investment 2015-2019”, was published in February 2015 and sets out a plan for IDA Ireland to broaden its target sectors further and to seek out new markets over the next five years. It sets ambitious targets to boost Foreign Direct Investment in Ireland by over 40%, creating 80,000 new jobs in the economy over the next five years.

IDA Ireland aims to win 900 individual projects over the next five years, increasing its investment target by over 40%. This will be based on an ability to respond to client needs efficiently, effectively and ahead of the competition.

In relation to its global strategy, North America will remain the key source market for FDI, while also targeting market share growth in Europe and increasing returns from regions such as Asia-Pacific. A strong emphasis in the strategy is on bringing first time investors to Ireland from all three markets. IDA will continue to target high growth companies.

New opportunities arise for Ireland from the rapid growth in technology. Some of these opportunities are within our existing sectors and focus on areas for convergence including Internet of Things, Big Data, Smart Ageing and Internet security where IDA Ireland will work with our clients to maximise investment. There are also a number of new sectors where IDA Ireland has assessed a potential ‘good fit’ for Ireland, these include energy services, asset-led FDI, arts and culture and property FDI.

The Government’s commitment to maintaining Ireland’s attractiveness as an FDI location is further illustrated by the establishment in Budget 2016 of the Knowledge Development Box (KDB). The KDB will add a further dimension to Ireland’s ‘best in class’ corporation tax offering. Effective from 1st January 2016, it will be the first and only box in the world to meet the OECD’s ‘modified nexus’ standard and will provide long-term certainty to taxpayers at a time when many international businesses are re-evaluating their structures and investment choices to compete and succeed.

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