Number of foreign investments in Ireland increase 37% according to IDA report
Foreign direct investment (FDI) held firm in the six months to June 2025, with substantial investment in critical areas such as R&D, digitalisation, sustainability, and talent development driving growth and transformation across priority sectors and regional locations, according to IDA Ireland.
Since the beginning of the year, there have been 179 investments by global companies, a 37% increase on the same period last year, that are expected to deliver more than 10,000 jobs.
Notably, 52 of these investments will be new or first-time investments into the country, while 43 are research, development and innovation (RD&I) projects, reflecting Ireland’s growing international reputation as a location for cutting edge innovation.
A further 41 investments were from existing client companies, with 34 investments since January were made across the areas of green capital and sustainability.
Of the total number of investments in the year to date, 91 (51%) have been into regional locations outside of Dublin.
Global companies continue to select Ireland as their location of choice from which to grow and expand their international business. In the first six months of 2025, website design platform Squarespace created some 120 jobs in Dublin; health data company Datavant opened a global R&D centre in Galway that is expected to employ up to 125; and Sony Interactive Entertainment announced plans to hire 100 employees in Dublin.
Other notable investments came from healthcare company GE HealthCare, who is spending €132 million in expanding and upgrading its Cork facility; Ericsson, who announced €200 million for pioneering research, development and innovation (RD&I) in Athlone; and IBM, whose expansion in Waterford is to create 75 jobs in support of its European and global mainframe business.
In its Annual Report for 2024, published today, IDA Ireland recognised the current uncertain global economic context and notes that the coming years will be marked by change and turbulence. The agency also highlighted the main challenges in executing Ireland’s infrastructure plans over the next five years, and the need to ensure continued competitiveness across capacity, cost, and regulation.
IDA Ireland CEO Michael Lohan said: “Today’s figures demonstrate Ireland’s continued attractiveness as a trusted partner and a proven investment location, speaking to our many strengths in areas such as innovation and talent as well as our stable, pro-enterprise business landscape. It also points to our resilience in the face of continuing global economic uncertainty.
“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. I am very pleased to see significant investment levels reflective of our commitment to these goals which also reflect the strategic growth drivers we have identified in our strategy, namely digitalisation & AI, semiconductors, sustainability and health.”
“IDA Ireland continues to partner with new and existing clients to support them in their investment endeavours here, to help their global competitiveness, and to deliver economic impact across all regions of the country. None of this can happen without the support of the Irish Government through the Dept of Enterprise, Tourism & Employment, the contribution and commitment of our many stakeholders and partners, and our team in Ireland and overseas, all working to position Ireland as the premier location for FDI.”
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