Ireland’s regions are continuing to grow. In 2023 there were 480 US operations in regional locations around Ireland, directly employing 118,000 people and supporting a further 94,000 jobs across Ireland’s regional communities.
“Balanced regional development is a key strategic priority for IDA, and this was reflected in the level of FDI investment into the regions in 2023 with 132 investments won across all regions representing 54 per cent of total investments,” says Michael Lohan, chief executive, IDA Ireland.
“At the end of 2023 the number of people employed in IDA client companies in regional locations stood at 163,471, an all-time high. Today 54 per cent of people employed in IDA client companies are located in regional locations.”
In the first six months of this year IDA Ireland supported 131 investments, 74 of which are planned for regional locations, enabling the future delivery of 8,900 jobs.
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Among the benefits of choosing a regional location are connectivity, lifestyle and cost-effectiveness, and crucially, access to talent.
The economic and social impact of FDI investment extend beyond employment creation. There are substantial spillover effects which benefit local and regional economies as well as having a positive impact nationally.
In 2022 expenditure by IDA client companies on Irish-sourced services and materials increased by 15.7 per cent to €13.8 billion; capital expenditure increased by 49 per cent to €15.5 billion and payroll increased by 12 per cent to €22.1 billion.
These are not short-term gains either. “When multinationals come to Ireland, many stay for the long term. Indeed 33 per cent of IDA Ireland clients have been in Ireland for over 20 years,” says Lohan.
In addition to IDA Ireland initiatives, higher levels of remote and hybrid working factor into locational decision making by multinationals and alters the trade-offs between urban and regional locations and creating an advantage for employees as they may no longer need to locate in urban areas, says Anthony O’Halloran, corporate and international tax partner at Deloitte.
“In recent years a greater investment in the regions by local authorities has cultivated a highly educated workforce, a great quality of life and provided enhanced connectivity through airports, rail and roads‚” says O’Halloran. “A key ambition of the National Development Plan is to focus on the delivery of balanced air connectivity to support Ireland’s regional airports including Cork and Shannon to ensure Ireland’s regions remain a location of choice for US multinationals.”
During his Budget 2025 speech Minister for Finance Jack Chambers said “the future economic performance of the State will depend on how the public infrastructure programme is prioritised and delivered over the next decade” and committed €3 billion in spending in the areas of water infrastructure, housing and electricity grid infrastructure.
“This will no doubt have a positive knock-on effect for regional locations and is critical to supporting the next wave of regional investments as other areas of our investment offering face additional pressures from overseas competitors,” says O’Halloran.
The companies are clear eyed about their decision to locate in Ireland’s regions.
“In recent years Ireland has emerged as a preferred destination for US companies looking to establish or expand their operations,” says Eamonn Hughes, general manager and vice-president of Johnson Controls, Ireland. “The combination of a highly educated workforce, an attractive quality of life, and a robust economy makes Ireland an ideal location for global headquarters.”
The company is a global leader in smart building technologies and an example of a company that has chose to set up its global headquarters in Ireland – and has thrived ever since.
“We saw Ireland as an ideal place for us to locate our global HQ,” says Hughes. “Having the right people in the right roles here in Ireland has had a positive impact on our company, and the been a key factor for our overall success.”
Ireland boasts a highly skilled and educated workforce thanks to its strong emphasis on education and the presence of numerous universities and institutes of technology. “The country consistently produces graduates in critical fields such as engineering, technology, pharmaceuticals and finance. Johnson Controls has benefited from this talent pool employing a diverse workforce with a 60/40 gender split and representatives from approximately 28 different nationalities in Cork,” he says.
“In addition, IDA Ireland offers a range of support for companies looking to set up operations. This includes access to expertise, financial incentives and international networking opportunities. The agency’s assistance in areas like business planning and innovation training provides valuable resources for companies navigating the local landscape. Johnson Controls has leveraged some of these supports to establish a strong foothold in Ireland and drive its growth strategy,” says Hughes.
A synergy of talent, quality of life, economic stability and strong government support “makes Ireland a compelling choice for US companies”, he says. “As more businesses recognise these advantages the regional spread of operations in Ireland is likely to continue thriving.”
Beckman Coulter, an in-vitro diagnostics and laboratory automation company, has had an operational presence in Ireland since 1972, located initially in Mervue, Co Galway. It expanded its footprint in Ireland when it acquired the diagnostics division of the Olympus Corporation in 2009, and the Clare facility became part of Beckman Coulter.
In 2014 the decision was taken to consolidate all Ireland operations into one location resulting in the Galway facility transferring all manufacturing and R&D into the Clare site.
“The decision to consolidate and locate to Clare was due to expansion capability and also its central location to many third-level institutions such as UL, TUS and [University of Galway] and favourable commute from Limerick, Shannon, Ennis and Galway,” says David O’Sullivan, senior director operations and site lead Beckman Coulter. “These educational institutions can offer opportunities for collaboration and talent development.”
Lower property and operational costs compared to big cities were also a factor, he adds. He also cites the quality of life that comes with beautiful natural surroundings and a commute that enables staff to travel against traffic rather than be stuck in it.
“The company has experienced double-digit growth over the last number of years, increasing footprint by 70 per cent and employing almost 600 employees by the end of 2024,” he adds.
An economic impact assessment carried out by independent market research experts Repucon revealed that the economic impact of the company was €183 million based on annual gross value added (GVA) in 2023.
The report also shows that the employment income impact of the company for the regional economy in 2023 was €55 million, of which €22 million is provided through its 220-plus employees living in Co Clare. Over the next five years Beckman Coulter’s regional employment income impact is projected to generate €380 million
Medical technology firm Stryker first established a presence in Tullagreen, Co Cork, in 1998, with an initial team of 20 employees. Over the past 26 years it has evolved into a leader in medtech advancements and rapidly expanded its operations on the island of Ireland. Within the past five years alone its workforce has expanded by more than 50 per cent and it now employs over 5,500 across the island of Ireland.
Ireland is now home to Stryker’s largest innovation and manufacturing hub outside the US. It has six manufacturing facilities, and three innovation centres located in Cork, Belfast and Limerick.
“These regional cities provide us with access to a skilled workforce which propels our innovation journey forward. From medical surgery to orthopaedics and neurotechnology, our diverse teams are the driving force behind new products and services. They are harnessing rapid advancements in disruptive technologies, robotics, AI and more to support surgeons and healthcare professionals as they look to improve patient outcomes,” says Bernard O’Connor, Stryker’s vice-president, advanced operations and global additive technologies.
Stryker’s presence in Cork, Limerick and Belfast has enabled it to attract highly skilled talent from across the island of Ireland as well as from overseas. “Today we have a team made up of over 65 nationalities who are at the forefront of medical technologies. Our continued growth here would not have been possible without the vibrant culture of collaboration between industry and the research community which has emerged in each of these regions,” says O’Connor.
“The close partnerships we have developed with universities and hospitals allow us to gain valuable clinical insights into how our technologies are improving patient care while also working with world-leading researchers to drive our R&D forward.”
O’Connor is optimistic about its future. “By building, nurturing and investing in our teams we’re confident that Ireland can continue to be an engine for growth and innovation for our company as we impact more than 150 million patients each year,” he says.
Eli Lilly first invested in Ireland in 1978 when the company purchased a greenfield site in rural west Cork, near Kinsale, with the plan to develop a new pharmaceutical manufacturing site. Production commenced at the site in 1981, and in the more than four decades since then that small site has since grown to become a vast biopharmaceutical manufacturing campus.
Today it boasts three state-of-the-art manufacturing technology platforms – chemical synthesis, peptide synthesis and biotechnology – that are used to make active ingredients for many medicines in the Lilly portfolio. Some 30 years after Kinsale started production the company opened the doors of a new global business services operation called Global Business Solutions in Little Island in 2011.
It too has been a huge success, and in the decade since its establishment it has grown and diversified into a global hub for expertise and capabilities from finance through to clinical research. Today the site employs about 2,000 people, and half of those work in research and development.
In 2022 the company expanded operations into a new area of Munster, with the announcement of a new greenfield biotech manufacturing campus in Raheen on the edge of Limerick city. The construction for that is proceeding apace, and the plan is to start making medicines there in 2026.
All this investment doesn’t happen by chance. “Whenever the company considers investing anywhere in the world, a comprehensive global assessment is carried out,” says Jean Casey, director of public affairs, Lilly Kinsale.
“A wide range of diverse factors is examined and considered, including access to talent, operational, infrastructure, economic and other factors. When the decision was made to locate a new site in Limerick one goal in locating within the Munster area was that the site should complement existing Cork operations, creating a cluster to leverage operational synergies where possible.”
Access to talent and a skilled workforce were high on the agenda, and both Cork and Limerick offer that, with proximity to universities that also have a strong Stem focus, she says.
The expansion of the company from the original site in Kinsale, to the new Global Business Solutions Centre in Little Island, and most recently to the new site in Raheen in Limerick indicates that the experience at each site has been positive.
“The strong record of delivery in terms of what has been achieved by each team in turn played some role in the decision to invest further in the Munster region,” says Casey.
