IDA projects could create up to 12,000 jobs and include 52 firms new to Ireland

Investors lured to the Republic by IDA Ireland in the first half of this year could create up to 12,000 jobs, the State development agency said on Wednesday.

IDA Ireland, responsible for bringing multinational employers to the State, said it won 139 investments in the first six months of the year. The agency calculated that these could create up 12,072 jobs and said the result “tracked in line with our expectations of a positive pipeline”.

Investments announced during the period included PepsiCo, which is spending €127 million in Cork; and investment of €600 million by Analog Devices in Limerick; and one of the biggest deals announced, Dexcom, in Athenry Galway, a €600 million project that could lead to 1,000 jobs.

The IDA noted that 52 of the projects secured were new investors in the Republic, while just short of half of all of the companies were based outside Dublin.

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Michael Lohan, chief executive at IDA Ireland, said: “These are strong half-year results achieved against a backdrop of considerable geopolitical uncertainty.”

However, he acknowledged that the detail published on Wednesday was not a “net figure”, that is, it does not take into account jobs lost in IDA-backed companies, as the organisation does not publish these details until October.

Tech companies, including social media giants Twitter and Facebook owner Meta, have cut more than 1,300 jobs in the Republic since late last year.

Simon Coveney, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, maintained that jobs created by new projects this year would overtake any losses. He pointed out that IDA client companies created 32,000 jobs in 2022, resulting in a net gain in employment of 24,000.

“We are seeing that again this year,” he confirmed. “We are confident that there will be a strong net positive figure this year.”

Responding to his predecessor Martin Shanahan’s warning that the Republic’s housing shortage and poor infrastructure could hinder investment, Mr Lohan said Government plans to tackle those problems reassured overseas companies.

He noted one of Dexcom’s vice-presidents had discussed these issues with the IDA. “He said he saw clarity in terms of plans and clarity in terms of delivery,” Mr Lohan added.

Mr Coveney added that overseas investors regularly discussed energy, housing and education with the Government. He said nobody should think that “housing is not a challenge in other locations around the world”. The Minister stressed the Government was optimistic new house building in the Republic would top 30,000 for the second year running in 2023, while it had pledged €160 billion to the National Development Plan, meant to address the State’s substandard infrastructure.

He argued that the Coalition continued to safeguard energy security by developing renewables, including recently signing contracts for electricity from offshore wind farms.

Mr Coveney rejected criticism that the price, €86 a megawatt hour, was high and meant Government was locking businesses into expensive long-term energy costs. “It less than they [businesses] are paying now,” he said.

Pharmaceutical and medical device companies employ more than 100,000 of the 300,000 people who now work for IDA-backed companies in the Republic, according to Mr Lohan.

He pointed out that the investments the agency had announced so far this year were across all industries and areas of growth.

Mr Lohan noted that many companies believed regional locations were better than Dublin as they had an advantage when it came to attracting and keeping staff.

He highlighted that the projects included many focused on research and development and on tackling climate change. However, Mr Lohan cautioned that the State would have to focus on cutting inflation and maintaining competitiveness to ensure investment continued.