Ireland is facing strong competition to attract foreign direct investment from countries that had not been on the horizon now looking to develop their own strategy and offering large sums of money, according to IDA Chair Feargal O’Rourke.
Speaking on RTE’s Morning Ireland, he described countries such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia as being like Manchester City in soccer terms with deep pockets, adding that Ireland needs to be like Aston Villa and “punching above our weight”.
“We’re also seeing countries like France and Germany put an increased emphasis on it,” said Mr O’Rourke.
“There’s more economic nationalism out there than there had been over the last decade, and we’re seeing increased competition,” he said.
The IDA had a record year last year as investments into Ireland by foreign multinationals were up by 38% in 2025.
Two years into his role as chair, Mr O’Rourke paid tribute to Michael Lohan, the chief executive and the team in IDA for delivering those results.
He said it is at a time like this when there is increased competition that the IDA rises to the fore in terms of world class organisations attracting inward investment.
In the face of geopolitical and global economic volatility he said Ireland is very stable in terms of institutions, in terms of policy, in terms of politics, in terms of the general economy.
“In my past career I would have gone around talking to US companies about how stable Ireland was and they would nod at you and say, that’s great, that’s fine, but there’s lots of other countries in the world like this,” said Mr O’Rourke.
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“That stability in what is a fairly turbulent world out there is really playing to our advantage now, added to the track record of companies that have been here for many years and have been very successful here, they are saying back at headquarters that Ireland works, Ireland’s great for business,” he said.
Almost €33 billion corporation tax was collected last year and almost three quarters of that was from the US.
With record corporation tax paid by so few companies there is still a risk of a corporation tax cliff, with ongoing threats posed by emerging AI and US tariffs.
“In terms of attracting inward investment, you always want to be a bit paranoid and you always want to be at your best,” said Mr O’Rourke.
He said there is no doubt the corporation tax take has been significantly increased in recent years, partly because of the OECD developments, and it is good to see the Government putting a portion of that away for a rainy day.
However he warned there will become a point when the corporation tax will come down and Ireland needs to make sure they spend it wisely and put away for that rainy day in the next couple of years.
Feargal O’Rourke is due to receive the inaugural Trusted Business Leadership Award from Chartered Accountants Ireland at their annual dinner tonight.
He will receive the award from CAI president Pamela McCreedy at Dublin’s Convention Centre.
