IDA Ireland spend on land holdings for FDI sites up 135%

IDA Ireland last year more than doubled its spend on purchasing land holdings to €32.87m for planned industrial sites as it looked to safeguard Ireland as a leading global destination for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

In figures provided in response to a Freedom of Information request, IDA Ireland confirmed that last year it paid out €32.87m on land holdings. The outlay is a 135% or €18.92m increase on the €13.95m paid out for land in 2024.

The €32.87m outlay is also a 149% or €19.65m increase on the 2023 spend of €13.22m on six property purchases.

The figures show that the €32.87m spend concerns nine purchases for “Strategic FDI Development” and the largest purchase in terms of hectares was made in Co Meath with the purchase of 48 hectares (119 acres).

The nine purchases for 2025 compare to five in 2024 and all of the IDA properties purchases in 2025 occurred in Leinster apart from two sites in Cork totalling 2.21 hectares in size.

The property purchases last year took place in Meath (48 hectares), Offaly (26 hectares), Kildare (13.7 hectares), Meath (8.32 hectares), Laois (3.81 hectares), Dublin (2.1 hectares) Cork (1.99 hectares), Westmeath (1.7 hectares) and Cork (0.22 hectares).

The property purchases in 2024 concerned lands in Galway, Kilkenny, Laois, Louth and Mayo.

Commenting on the sharp increase in the value of property purchases in 2025, an IDA spokeswoman said today: “The increased spend during 2025 is an indication of IDA Ireland’s continued commitment to supporting Ireland’s economic development, enhancing our ability to attract and facilitate new business opportunities”.

“It reflects the strong levels of inward investment by companies supported by IDA Ireland, along with their need for viable locations to establish their operations. It also demonstrates our focus on maintaining an appropriate stock of property solutions tailored to client needs,” she added.

The spokeswoman pointed out that “IDA Ireland acquires land to ensure a ready supply of strategic sites for future investment, as well as to support the development needs of existing and potential clients.”

She said that where appropriate, planning applications are submitted for sites to ensure they are ready for future investment.

“Typically, such applications concentrate on enabling infrastructure and facilitating business expansion so that when opportunities arise, we are prepared to move quickly. This approach helps us remain agile and responsive to investor requirements and plays a vital role in sustaining economic growth across regions,” she said.

The IDA FOI unit declined to release the cost of each purchase.

“IDA is currently engaged in negotiations with landowners for the acquisitions of lands in a number of locations throughout Ireland. On that basis, the release of the purchase prices paid by IDA for lands in 2024 and 2025 would adversely affect IDA in its current negotiations, significantly prejudicing IDA’s competitive position,” it said.

The unit stated that “disclosure of this information could affect IDA’s ability to negotiate effectively and impact the quality of discussions with property agents or landowners by indicating amounts which IDA may be willing to pay vendors of lands”.

The FOI unit response letter stated that underpinning the IDA’s success in delivering employment growth and robust flow of investments into the regions “is the IDA property portfolio”.

The FOI response stated that “the IDA’s property portfolio is central to the successful implementation of the IDA’s statutory objectives, supporting the agency in winning new name foreign direct investment and the expansion of the existing client base”.

The unit added that “IDA keeps its national land holding under constant review with a view to ensuring that an appropriate level of land banks are available to accommodate such investments”.

Reporting by Gordon Deegan