“Foreign direct investment (FDI) continues to be pivotal to Ireland’s success” said John Dunne, Chairman of IDA Ireland speaking today at the launch of the agency’s Annual Report 2005.  He said the high calibre investment that Ireland won last year and is continuing to win in 2006 greatly contributes to our thriving economy, our higher living standards and improved quality of life. It is also a key facet of our international impact and recognition.

The Intel Ireland campus, at Collinstown Industrial Park, Leixlip, County Kildare is Intel's fourth largest manufacturing site overall, and the largest outside the United States.

The IDA annual report highlights how the business Ireland now competes for has dramatically changed in terms of the advancement of global competition and technology, and outlines the critical attributes and challenges that are crucial to our economic future. “Continued competitiveness and flexibility in responding to changes in both local and international economic conditions is essential. The pace of development makes further investment in education and R&D critical. Rapid improvement in physical infrastructure is also a pressing need, especially to support regional development,” said Mr Dunne.

“2005 was a remarkable year in terms of the high quality and regional spread of investments secured for Ireland.  71 new business projects were negotiated with new and existing clients, involving a total investment over the coming years of more than €760 million, with 46 of these locating outside Dublin.  12,623 new jobs were created with over 50% of all the new positions requiring third-level or higher qualifications in a wide range of disciplines. We are continuing to develop our research capability and capacity with 50 R&D projects supported last year involving a total investment in excess of €275 million, a record in number and value and a 85% increase in value over 2004” he said. 

Mr. Dunne continued “We are confident that our record will continue this year based on the strong performance to date.  At the start of 2006, for example, we secured a €1 billion investment from Amgen, the world’s largest biotechnology company, and Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) has just established an applied research institute in Athlone to focus on industry R&D needs.”

New international marketing campaign

IDA Ireland today also launched its new international marketing campaign ‘The Irish Mind’.  Sean Dorgan, CEO of IDA, explained the rationale: “Over recent years we have seen clearly the extent of change in global business and the opening up of new competing locations for investment. These factors have created challenges for Ireland, which we have successfully met. But we have to keep moving on, and differentiate Ireland for high value investments.”

“What is different here in Ireland is the way in which we tackle issues, solve problems and seek other new and better ways to meet needs. It requires ambition, vision, cooperation and partnership among many players. It reflects a mindset and an approach that is innate. Ireland continues to win international investments because it is recognised as a business location where the workforce, in addition to being highly qualified, has a unique capacity to improve, to innovate and to initiate new ideas, new processes and new methods of operating that can make business more dynamic, more efficient, and ultimately more profitable” said Mr Dorgan.

He continued “One of the great, understated, attractions of Ireland for inward investment is the depth, quality and global orientation of Irish managers. Repeatedly, we see managers here achieving superior performance in their corporate mandates and, on the back of that, seeking and winning additional responsibilities for their operations here, against competition from many alternative sites. Irish subsidiaries have excelled in the quality of their performance and in doing so have instilled a real confidence in the parent corporation for taking on additional central activities of the business.” 

Denis Molumby, Executive Director Marketing of IDA, elaborated “Innovation and creativity are pre-requisites for success amongst global companies today. They want to locate the crucial parts of their business in a society where these attributes flourish and the Ireland of 2006 is meeting this need. Ireland has established a reputation based on our flexibility, speed, agility and willingness to succeed.  These are the distinctive characteristics which distinguish Ireland from global competitors for foreign direct investment.”

He went on to say “The advertising uses a selection of Louis le Brocquy portraits of eminent Irish figures.  The campaign commences with a full colour ad in today’s Wall St. Journal featuring the portrait of Bono. The thinking behind the use of the portraits is that le Brocquy himself has connected his preoccupation with the human head with the Celtic tradition of the head as a magic box which contains the spirit.  We believe that featuring these Louis le Brocquy portraits will intrigue and engage the attention of business decision makers, prompting them to read the short but clear messages contained in the text. The juxtapositioning of the creative experience that marries art and business will embed in the consciousness and memory of the reader.”  

The new international campaign will build on the “Knowledge is in our nature” theme has been used by IDA in recent years. The advertising part of the campaign will run primarily in US print media such as the Wall St. Journal, Business Week, Forbes, Fortune and the Economist. It will be followed by a fully integrated communications and promotions campaign involving print media, online presence, and sponsorship of high calibre business and sectoral conferences and seminars in IDA’s target markets.

Highlights of 2005

Mr Dorgan summarised the highlights of 2005 as follows:

71 new business projects were negotiated with new and existing clients, involving a total investment over the coming years of more than €760 million, with 46 of these locating outside Dublin.
50 R&D projects were supported involving a total investment in excess of €275 million, a record in number and value and an 85% increase over 2004.
Over 50% of the jobs supported in 2005 will require third-level or higher qualifications in a wide range of disciplines.
Close to 40% of all new jobs in IDA-backed projects now earn in excess of €37,000 per annum.
Total employment in IDA supported companies has increased to 132,728. The number of new jobs created during the year was 12,623. This was offset by job losses of 9,211 giving a net gain of 3,412, the highest gain since the year 2000. Employment numbers are only one indicator of progress and is a less important indicator than in the past given Ireland’s current levels of development and employment.

One of the most satisfying aspects of 2005 was the extent and depth of sophisticated R&D projects now being won, which drive world-class innovation here. Among the many significant R&D investment decisions were Bristol-Myers Squibb, Citigroup, Genzyme, Pfizer and Xilinx, together investing over €50 million in new leading edge R&D projects. Microsoft marked their 20^th anniversary in Ireland with the opening of a new R&D centre, creating positions for 100 researchers and developers. Dell has established an engineering centre of competency in Limerick, which will involve extensive collaboration with research groups at the University of Limerick.  The largest approval (over €70 million) by the IDA Board in 2005 was for the funding of NIBRT – the National Institute of Bioprocessing Research and Training – which will be located on the new Industry Park in Belfield.

Among many investments in regional locations in 2005 were Bausch & Lomb and BISYS in Waterford, Toucan in Sligo, SITA and Zeus in Letterkenny, AXA in Athlone, PFPC in Wexford and Navan, Waters also in Wexford, IFS in Naas and Drogheda.

Also in 2005, IDA spent over €69 million on its business parks, advance facilities and related infrastructure to achieve balanced regional economic development. During the year, IDA Ireland developed infrastructure-rich sites for utility-intensive industries throughout the country. Advance planning permissions have been obtained by IDA for a biopharmaceutical plant in Oranmore, Co Galway and for integrated circuit manufacture in Grange Castle, Co. Dublin. These advance permissions will shorten the start-up time for any project choosing these sites; IDA is actively marketing both locations.

Progress in 2006 and Prospects

“The achievements of 2005 are being continued in 2006 and we see good prospects for further investments over coming months,” said Sean Dorgan. “Already this year we have had major announcements by Amgen, Amazon and Citco in Cork, Georgia Tech Research Institute in Athlone, Abbott in Donegal, USCI for Ballinasloe, Vesta for Dundalk, Becton Dickinson and Pillar Data for Drogheda and Vistakon in Limerick. We believe that there will again be a reasonable spread of investments throughout the regions, as we work intensively with local authorities and other bodies to advance regional development.”

Full text of IDA Ireland Annual Report 2005 - PDF version (1872kb)