EY Ireland’s head of FDI Feargal de Freine.
A new EY Ireland report claims most FDI decision makers believe Ireland’s attractiveness as a location for investment will improve in the coming years and that Ireland is seen as having strong AI credentials.
Ireland’s attractiveness as a location for foreign direct investment (FDI) remains strong, with the majority of investors planning to establish or expand operations here over the next year.
That’s according to a new survey from EY Ireland, which said these investment plans were noted by nearly 80pc of the FDI decision makers surveyed. Meanwhile, two-thirds of the 150 decision makers surveyed believe that Ireland’s attractiveness as an FDI location will improve in the coming three years.
These figures mark a significant improvement compared to the results of EY Ireland’s previous report last year, which found that only 53pc planned to establish or expand operations in the country.
The latest EY Ireland report also noted that 2023 was a challenging year in terms of FDI, with Ireland falling to 11th place on its table of most desirable investment destinations in Europe, down from 10th place in 2022.
“While 2023 was a subpar year for FDI projects across Europe and in Ireland, investor sentiment remains positive,” said Feargal de Freine, EY Ireland’s head of FDI. “Ireland’s FDI model has been highly successful for decades, centred on talent, business-friendly policies, stability and access to Europe’s single market.”
The report noted Ireland has some key strengths in the FDI market, as positive investment intentions were particularly strong among financial services, pharma and and very large company investors.
EY Ireland also said that Ireland is well regarded when it comes to technology and is seen as having strong AI credentials, with the Irish workforce ranking highly in areas such as innovativeness, autonomy, problem solving and proactiveness.
“Ireland is a hub for organisations that specialise in technology, cyber, digital and AI, with our ability to communicate, collaborate and be creative differentiating us from other locations for AI,” de Freine said. “Strong leadership and focus at the highest levels of policymaking is also essential for the realisation of Ireland’s AI strategy.”
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