Irish multinationals abroad generated turnover of €256bn in 2019

Turnover generated by Irish multinationals abroad rose to almost €256 billion in 2019, with the UK and US accounting for almost 57 per cent of the total, new data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows.

Affiliates of Irish-domiciled multinationals employed more than 1.1 million people, with a third of them in the US or UK.

An enterprise is deemed to be Irish-owned if over 50 per cent of its controlling interest is in the Republic.

The UK saw a decrease of 5 per cent in turnover at Irish affiliates from 2018, dropping to €42.7 billion, with employment up 4 per cent to almost 125,500.

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The US showed improvement across the board, with employment up almost 13 per cent, or 29,773, to just over 263,000, while turnover climbed 8 per cent to almost €102 billion.

Irish affiliates in Germany, France and the Netherlands accounted for 10.6 per cent of turnover at Irish affiliates abroad, while the three countries also accounted for almost 7 per cent of people employed by Irish multinationals abroad.

Germany and France were broadly similar in terms of turnover, accounting for 4.1 per cent and 4 per cent respectively, while the Netherlands accounted for 2.5 per cent of turnover.

The highest percentage growth in employment in Irish affiliates was seen in Italy and Canada, with Italy showing a rise of 31.1 per cent between 2018 and 2019, and turnover rising 23 per cent in the same period. That was closely followed by Canada, which recorded growth of 26.2 per cent in employment and 9.3 per cent in turnover.

The Netherlands, Germany and China all showed declines in employment in Irish affiliates, with a decline of 17.6 per cent, 4.7 per cent and 2.0 per cent respectively.

Irish affiliates employ 38,600 in China, more than 34,300 in Germany, and just over 16,500 in the Netherlands.