IDA Ireland last year hosted 466 site visits by would be foreign direct investors (FDIs) with visits to Dublin accounting for 46.5% of visits.
New figures provided by the Ministry for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Peter Burke show that five counties – Leitrim, Mayo, Meath, Wicklow and Monaghan – recorded only one visit last year.
The figures provided in a written Dáil reply to Malcolm Byrne show that the number of FDI visits at 466 was an increase of two on the 464 visits in 2023.
The dominance of the capital increased in 2024, and accounted for 221 or 46.5% of FDI visits compared to 37% or 173 FDI visits in 2023.
Dublin was well ahead of the second ranked county and city, Cork which accounted for 41 of FDI visits and the Cork total was marginally ahead of Limerick at 38 followed by Galway at 34.
Clare was the only other county record in excess of 20 FDI visits at 21 while only two others recorded between 10 and 20 visits with Waterford and Westmeath each recording 18 FDI visits each.
Nine counties recorded between five and 10 visits made up Offaly (5), Kildare, (5) Carlow (6), Wexford (6), Kerry (6), Roscommon (7), Louth (7), Sligo (8) and Kilkenny (8).
Along with the five counties recording a single FDI visit each last year, a further five recorded between two and five visits with Tipperary (2), Longford (2), Laois (2), Donegal (2) and Cavan (4).
In his reply, Minister Burke cautioned that IDA site visits “are only one measure of a company’s interest in a particular location and may not necessarily be a true measure of the overall level of foreign direct investment (FDI) activity in a region or county”.
“For example, 70% of FDI won by IDA Ireland in 2024 came from its existing client base, rather than new companies. Also, potential clients visiting Ireland may visit more than one county and may return to a location more than once. The figures given, therefore, represent individual visits and are not indicative of the number of companies that have visited,” the Minister said.
Minister Burke told Deputy Byrne that it should also be noted that “the final decision on where to locate an investment is always decided by the client, and not by IDA Ireland, and it can take many years to convert from initial site visit to final project proposal”.
“Regular engagement and collaboration with stakeholders are important in positioning any regional location to attract FDI and, in this respect, IDA Ireland continues to engage with stakeholders as well as working with existing clients in all regional locations to generate additional employment,” he said.
Minister Burke stated that the competition for FDI in the IDA’s “key sectors” continues to intensify as countries increase their focus on self-sufficiency and economic security.
“However, Ireland’s value proposition for inward investment remains strong, based on offering a safe and stable investment location with access to the EU market, an educated and skilled workforce, an attractive environment where people want to live and work, a competitive, consistent and transparent corporate tax regime and an excellent return on investment,” he said.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
