But the figures for direct expenditure in the economy were down 3.8 per cent on 2005 and appeared to be part of a continuing decline as the 2004 figure was 2.3 per cent higher than for 2005.
The IDA-backed projects also spent less on Irish materials and services in 2006 than 2005, suggesting that local companies have done less well out of the investments in overseas businesses. According to IDA’s figures, spending on Irish materials declined by 7.9 per cent while the figure for Irish services fell 6.5 per cent.
IDA Ireland emphasised the wide geographical spread of investments across Ireland, with 89 new investments outside Dublin. In 2006 almost 60 per cent of greenfield projects, and 6 out of every 7 R&D investments (or 85%), took place outside the capital.
Joe McHugh, regional manager for IDA Ireland north west region, said the decline in spending on Irish materials and services reflected the shift in investment from manufacturing to services. “There are less sub-supply capabilities in the services industry,” he commented. As for the regions, the challenge was to get areas to “present a better picture to companies”.
As many as 54 R&D investment projects were supported by IDA Ireland in 2006 involving a total investment of almost €470m. The corresponding values were €140m and €260m in 2004 and 2005 respectively.
Over 50 per cent of jobs in new IDA-supported projects in 2006 had wage levels in excess of €40,000 per annum and employment in IDA supported companies increased by 3,795 in 2006, bringing total employment to 135,487.
Commenting on the overall figures, IDA Ireland CEO Sean Dorgan, claimed very strong investment achievements in 2006 and ongoing collaborative national efforts to continue the transformation of Ireland into an ever more advanced knowledge economy, “gives us great confidence in our ability to win exciting new investment projects in 2007”.
Dorgan claimed IDA Ireland had “a good pipeline of potential investments and we are optimistic of winning quality new investments from new and existing clients for locations across Ireland”.
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