Peter Burke is Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. He previously served as Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence, and as Minister of State for Local Government and Planning. Here, he highlights and celebrates the success of Irish companies in the US.
This article was originally published in the Ireland INC US 250 Index 2024 Special Report. To read the latest issue, click here.
Irish-Owned companies operating in the US come from an environment where FDI is nurtured and companies look to overseas markets to grow, given the relatively modest size of the domestic Irish marketplace.
These companies have developed in a highly competitive, pro-business, stable economic and political environment. They are built on the hard work of a highly-educated, young population and often operate in sectors that have flourished through MNCs operating in Ireland, very successfully, over many decades.
My ambition is that we scale up more Irish-owned enterprises to become world leaders in their fields and I believe that operating in the US marketplace affords them valuable growth opportunities in a highly sophisticated entrepreneurial environment.
In line with my Department’s Trade and Investment Strategy – Value for Ireland, Values for the World, Ireland’s openness to trade, investment, people and ideas is a key national strength that has helped transform our economy and society into what it is today, and this is reflected in the success of Irish companies in the US.
The story of Irish companies in the US is two-fold, evenly divided between investment and exports. It is also based on our deep relationship, supporting job creation, economic growth, and trade in both directions.
Over 900 Irish-owned companies are actively exporting to the US, with over 70% maintaining a full-time presence in the market. These companies range from single-person sales offices to large manufacturing operations employing thousands.
The US is the second-largest export market for our Enterprise Ireland client companies, representing a record €5.9 billion in exports in 2023. Notably, the US is also the largest export market for Enterprise Ireland’s technology clients, with exports exceeding €1.1 billion in 2023.
Ireland now stands as the 7th largest source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the US, with Irish origin investments valued at $322 billion. Across the US, more than 100,000 people are employed by Irish companies, driven by the high demand for innovative products and services from Ireland.
On my two trade missions to the US East and West coasts this year, visiting New York, Boston, Los Angeles, San Diego, Silicon Valley, San Francisco and Seattle, my aim was to strengthen and consolidate key strategic partnerships and promote world class Irish companies with leading market positions in the US.
I was delighted to meet many Irish companies and their customers from a range of sectors, as well as representatives from large multinationals such as Apple, Amazon, Netflix, OpenAI, Citi Group and their suppliers Intuition, Salaso and Northwell Healthcare, Novum and their customer Tawa Supermarket from California and many more.
I also received client updates on expansion from Version1, Intact Software, Capella, Applegreen, WorkHuman, PM Group, Taoglas, Tines and Uniphar among others. Each one of these Enterprise Ireland client companies are expanding because they have brought innovative solutions and services to their customers and are investing in growing their presence in the market.
I have seen first-hand the impact of such trade missions, with some of the target companies I met, now making significant announcements into Ireland.
Enterprise Ireland has six offices across the US and is planning to expand its US presence in 2025. These offices have supported the establishment of around 80 new US bases by Irish client companies over the last 18 months.
This is all testament to Ireland’s close-knit ties with the US, and demonstrates our growing influence within the American business community.