Ireland is one of Europe’s top ten most attractive destinations for foreign direct investment
DUBLIN: Ireland continues to be one of the favorite European destinations for foreign direct investment (FDI). Ireland is ranked ninth in the European league table as one of the top ten most attractive FDI destinations in Europe.
Ireland attracted 165 foreign direct investment projects last year. The achievement is that Ireland has been able to maintain its position despite a drop in investment projects since 2019. In 2019, Ireland received 191 investment projects. These findings are from the EY European Attractiveness Survey 2021.
The survey assessed Europe’s performance and perceptions as a destination for FDI. A survey of 550 international investors was also conducted to examine the impact of COVID-19 on investment decisions.
Ireland holds its top position despite impact of COVID-19
According to EY’s analysis, the number of FDI projects in Ireland has decreased for the second year in a row. The decline is attributed to a ‘Brexit bounce’ in 2018, which saw a record 205 projects. However, over the past five years, Ireland has been able to consistently maintain an average of 167 FDI projects per year.
In the last three years alone, Ireland has achieved more than 550 projects, said Feargal de Freine, Assurance Partner and Head of FDI, EY Ireland.
“The strength of Ireland’s track record in FDI can also be seen in our GDP and more specifically the tax records for 2020 which were only down by 3.6% despite the devastating impacts of COVID-19, helping to facilitate the significant level of financial support given by Government to firms and individuals during the pandemic,” Mr. de Freine added.
US continues to be the most active investor
The United States continues to be the largest investor in Ireland, accounting for 58% of projects, followed by the UK (17%) and Germany (5%).
The survey report reveals that 40% of investors plan to expand their operations in Europe within the next 12 months. 63% of investors believe Europe will become more appealing in the next three years, while 5% say it will worsen.
According to the survey, 80% of investors believe that after COVID-19, Western Europe will be the most attractive global destination for FDI.
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