Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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77. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he has considered measures to incentivise multinational companies operating in Ireland to establish corporate headquarters in the State, with a view to creating new employment and providing new business opportunities for Irish-based professional service providers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36338/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is a key element of our economic strategy with investments by IDA Ireland client companies consistently generating highly-skilled jobs nationwide and very considerable exchequer returns. Despite increasing competition for FDI globally, and an increasingly uncertain global economic context, the recent performance of our FDI sector has exceeded all expectations.

IDA Ireland’s mandate is well-known, responsible for attracting and retaining mobile FDI to Ireland in support of well-paid employment opportunities across the country. Through Government funding, the IDA provides investment support and incentives for companies looking to expand and develop strategic international operations in Ireland. In this regard, the IDA currently supports over 1,800 client companies, spanning manufacturing, services and technology companies, directly employing over 300,000 people in Ireland.

2024 saw the conclusion of IDA Ireland’s 2021-2024 Strategy, Driving recovery and sustainable growth. Over the strategy, IDA supported 973 investments and the creation of 76,790 jobs, or 121% and 153% of respective targets. 234 investments were approved last year, with associated future job creation of 13,500 and I will announce the IDA's 2025 Mid-Year results today.

Despite a challenging global economic environment, employment in IDA client companies in 2024 remained steady, gaining a net 601 jobs with, as I have already noted, direct employment of over 300,000 people, circa 11% of total national employment for a third consecutive year. Furthermore, my Department estimates that for every 10 jobs generated by FDI directly, another eight are created in the wider economy and this translates to almost 545,000 direct and indirect jobs supported by FDI at the end of 2023 – almost 20% of the workforce.

I am particularly pleased with the regional FDI performance by the IDA with 137 or 59% of these investment going to the regions in 2024 and IDA clients now employ a record 165,484 people regionally, which represents 55% of IDA-client employment. 2024 also saw a record level of investment in transformation across R&D, sustainability, and talent development where IDA Ireland clients committed a record €1.9bn across 64 projects in all sectors.

The strength and impact of Ireland’s FDI base across all regions makes it a key national asset, and we will continue to attract and retain overseas investments by ensuring our value proposition is among the best in the world. In this regard, maintaining and enhancing Ireland’s attractiveness as a location for FDI, evolving Ireland’s FDI value proposition and pursuing increased and new types of FDI investments are a key focus, as is strengthening linkages between foreign and Irish-owned firms, and developing stronger ecosystems to help local firms embed themselves in the value chains of FDI intensive sectors.

The strength of this performance has provided a strong foundation for the IDA’s new Strategy, “Adapt Intelligently: A Strategy for Sustainable Growth and Innovation 2025-29” which I launched in February this year. The strategy is one of ambition and opportunity, developed in the context of a changing global landscape. Central to the IDA's new strategy is an emphasis on partnering with existing clients to increase the competitiveness of their Irish operations and safeguard and strengthen long-term investment in Ireland. This is both important in its own right but also for so many SMEs that are in the FDI community's supply chains.

The new Strategy also points to attracting new investment in the key future-orientated sectors of digitalisation and AI, semiconductors, health, and sustainability. It reflects the focus and ambition of the new Programme for Government, including the importance of the National Strategy on Semiconductors, Silicon Island, which I launched last May, and targeting new opportunities in Quantum Tech, Photonics, AI, Compound Semiconductors, and MedTech. My Department will also deliver a National Life-Sciences Strategy.

Despite the uncertainty and the challenges in the global environment, 2024 was a very successful year for the IDA and I am confident that the new strategy will serve the Agency well, to protect the existing FDI base and position it for further success and to secure the next generation of investment in Ireland.