IDA publish midyear results

By Liudmyla Bortok

The first half of the year has brought good news for Cork and the surrounding region, as foreign direct investment (FDI) continues to grow.

51% of all investments year to date have been into regional locations, in line with the Industrial Development Agency’s (IDA) strategic objective to maximise regional growth. This shift reflects a growing interest among global companies in establishing and expanding operations beyond Dublin.

Cork and the wider region stand to gain from these trends. More companies are choosing locations outside the capital, attracted by the availability of skilled workers, quality of life, and access to world-class research facilities. The region’s strong talent pool and supportive infrastructure have helped it secure several high-profile announcements in recent months.

GE Healthcare in Cork announced a €132 million investment to expand its contrast media fill-and-finish manufacturing site at Carrigtwohill in Cork to position the company to meet future global demand and allow for more flexibility, resilience and security of supply.

Also in Cork, Tricentis, a global leader in continuous testing and quality engineering, announced plans to further invest in Ireland with ambitions to expand local headcount in Cork by 50 over coming years and plans to move to new office space to accommodate its expanding team across key areas such as sales, engineering, finance, business operations, and customer growth.

Canto, a leading provider of digital asset management software, Canto has announced plans to expand its operations in Ireland. This investment will strengthen Canto’s existing innovation center in Cork, with plans to grow the office and create 50 new jobs as part of the company’s global product development strategy.

These announcements are part of a broader trend across Ireland. According to IDA Ireland’s latest report, regional employment increased to 165,484 jobs — the highest figure on record — accounting for 55% of overall client employment.

Gains were strongest in the Mid-West (+3.1%), South-East (+2.3%) and Border (+2.2%) regions, with marginal changes seen in Dublin (+0.07%), the West (+0.15%), the Midlands (-0.45%) and the South-West (-0.2%). Meanwhile, the Mid-East (-3.8%) saw employment decline. IDA Ireland clients in regions spend more than €19bn annually in the Irish economy.

IDA Ireland’s Chief Executive Officer, Michael Lohan, highlighted the importance of regional development in the agency’s future plans: “In February of this year, we launched IDA Ireland’s five-year strategy to 2029, Adapt Intelligently, outlining four key goals – to strengthen long term investment, drive sustainable change, scale cutting edge innovation and maximise regional opportunity.”

The IDA also released its Annual Report for 2024 which also underline Ireland’s reputation as a stable and attractive destination for global investors — a crucial advantage in today’s uncertain world.

Launching the 2024 Annual Report, IDA Ireland Chairman, Feargal O’Rourke said: “The results in the Annual Report, coupled with today’s half year results, is evidence that in a turbulent world, this stability now stands out as a very attractive feature and, I have no doubt, has contributed to the positive place we find ourselves in.”

IDA Ireland is the Irish Government’s inward investment promotion agency. It is a non-commercial body that provides comprehensive pro bono investment support and incentives for companies looking to expand and develop strategic international operations in Ireland. It supports close to 1,800 client companies to directly employ over 300,000 people in Ireland.

You can read the full IDA Ireland Annual Report 2024 at idaireland.com.