The IDA reported today that its client companies announced in excess of 5,000 jobs in the first six months of 2012, continuing the strong flow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) which occurred in 2011.
Improvements in competitiveness in areas such as office rents, construction costs, unit labour costs and business services in recent years have helped boost Ireland’s FDI performance. Ireland continues to rank strongly in the availability of skilled staff with the 2012 IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook placing Ireland number 1 in the world for skilled labour.
IDA’s 2011 Annual Report, released today, shows there are now almost 146,000 people working directly in over 1,000 IDA client companies. 2011 saw the creation of over 13,000 new jobs with the best net jobs increase since 2002 of over 6,000.
Commenting on the results, the Jobs Minister Richard Bruton said:
A key part of the Government’s plan for jobs and growth is deepening and developing the impact of foreign direct investment here. In 2011 and in the first half of 2012 we have seen a very strong flow of investment and jobs from multinational companies...and I commend all involved on the achievements.
We must do everything possible to ensure that this strong flow of jobs and investments continues; we must also strengthen links between multinational companies and the rest of the economy, so that the full benefit of these major investments can feed through to the domestic economy, for example through supply chain opportunities and mentoring for SMEs.
Commenting on the outlook for the second half of the year and beyond, IDA CEO Barry O’Leary said
There are challenging headwinds facing IDA and Ireland with little growth in European demand, moderate growth in the U.S. and a slowdown in the economies of China and India. Due to a lack of domestic demand and budget deficits many countries are ramping up their attempts to attract inward investment.
However IDA remains optimistic that Ireland can continue to win significant FDI, building on our strong track record. IDA targets a number of sectors that will continue to grow even in a globally challenging environment. These include IT/Technology, Digital Media and Lifesciences.