Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I am proud that Ireland continues to perform very strongly in terms of attracting FDI. It is a huge achievement that there are now over 210,000 people employed in IDA Ireland client companies here. The fact that the Agency has surpassed its overall five-year target of 209,000 within three years is further evidence of Ireland’s success in growing the level of employment by multinationals here.

I am especially pleased to see that of the 237 overseas investments made in 2017, a record number of 111 were from new companies investing in Ireland for the first time. This reflects the health of the pipeline of foreign direct investment (FDI) here. The mid-year results for 2018 indicate that we can continue to rely on the selling points that make investing in Ireland so attractive in the first place.

Ireland’s overall FDI offering which despite an increasingly competitive global environment, remains very attractive to overseas companies. Multinational companies invest in Ireland for many reasons, not just one. Ireland has a strong pool of highly skilled workers and a first-class education system that produces top-level graduates.

Our country benefits as well from favourable demographics – over 40% of our population is under 29. Ireland’s membership of the EU is another key selling point. When companies establish operations here, they immediately benefit from barrier-free access to an EU market of over 500 million consumers. Ireland is simply a great place to do business: we offer strong incentives for research and development, a rich talent pool and a stable and competitive corporation tax regime.

However we are not complacent and the Government is continuing to work hard to consolidate this country’s traditional strength in terms of talent productivity and export competitiveness. Ireland’s ability to remain competitive in attracting FDI is dependent on the provision of high-quality infrastructure. Underinvestment in capital infrastructure means that our future economic competitiveness would be harmed.

Through Project Ireland 2040, the Government is delivering a step-up in investment in road, energy, water and broadband infrastructure and in education and research facilities. Investment levels in Ireland will continue to increase at a sustainable rate and, very importantly, our infrastructure investment will allow our companies and economy to continue to compete with the best in the world.