Martin Shanahan, CEO, IDA at the 2018 Business & Finance Awards
FDI performance exceeds targets set for IDA Ireland’s Strategy – Winning: Foreign Direct Investment 2015-2019
The IDA, the agency responsible for attracting Foreign Direct Investment to Ireland celebrates its 70 year anniversary in 2019.
History of the IDA
Established in 1949, the IDA was created to develop export-led business and enterprise in Ireland which included both indigenous, start-up enterprises and Foreign Direct Investment into Ireland.
In 1965 the signing of the Anglo Irish Free Trade agreement contributed to the opening up of the Irish economy between Ireland and its main trading partner which then led to autonomy for the IDA as it was was incorporated as an autonomous state-sponsored body under the Industrial Development Act and made responsible for all aspects of industrial development in 1969.
Since 1994, following a government review of the IDA, it was broken up into three separate organisations with the IDA focusing exclusively on the promotion and development of high-quality foreign direct investment (FDI) in Ireland.
2018 IDA results prove Ireland still very attractive to incoming FDI
Speaking about the 2018 results, Heather Humphreys, Irish Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation said:
The IDA’s record results for 2018 underline how strongly Ireland continues to perform when it comes to attracting FDI. The significant increase achieved in employment is all the more impressive considering the highly competitive global FDI marketplace in which Ireland and the IDA operate. The Government will continue working hard in 2019 to ensure that Ireland remains a destination of choice for overseas firms looking to invest or expand their presence in Europe.
Martin Shanahan, CEO of IDA Ireland said:
Once again, the 2018 figures show a consistent pattern of extremely strong job creation amongst IDA Client companies in recent years.
It is important to remember that only ten years ago, across 2008 and 2009, Ireland lost over 35,000 FDI jobs during the Global Financial Crisis. This is a salutary reminder that we can take nothing for granted and we need to be vigilant, particularly in relation to our competitiveness. All jobs are fought for and won against increasing international competition.
Brexit implications for Ireland
In 2018 the IDA has secured a number of Brexit-related investments with the total figure at over 55 for investment approved with over 4500 associated jobs.
Leading companies like Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Legal & General, Everest Re, Central Pharma, The Standard Club, Coinbase, Citi Group, Barclays, AXA XL, Wasdell Group, EquiLend, Thomson Reuters, BRE Global, Simmons & Simmons, Neueda Technologies and Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) have all declared a new or expanded presence for Ireland in 2018.
Forecast for the IDA moving forward
For 2019 the IDA will be developing a new five-year strategy which will take into account the changing nature of work and the impact of technology across many sectors. There is increased demand for business professionals which comes as a result of three key drivers of change – technological change; cost competitiveness and increasing regulation.
