IDA exceeds Horizon 2020 jobs and investment targets
Firms supported by IDA Ireland created more than 15,000 jobs last year, exceeding the target set for the organisation under Horizon 2020.
IDA Ireland is the Irish Government agency responsible for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) and reported the creation of 15,012 new jobs by IDA client companies during 2014. When job losses were taken into account, the net increase in employment was 7,131, one of the highest net levels of job creation in a decade. Total employment at IDA client companies now stands at 174,488 people, the highest level in the history of the organisation. With both its jobs and investment targets reached, the body is now finalising a new five-year strategy.
According to IDA Ireland, a dynamic workforce, improved macroeconomic conditions and a concentration on several core sectors helped lead to the breakthrough figurers. Key FDI investments made in 2014 included those from Amazon, LinkedIn, Survey Monkey, PayPal, Ericsson and Johnson & Johnson.
Commenting on the breakthrough, Richard Bruton, Irish Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, said: “FDI is a central part of our Action Plan for Jobs. Multinational companies (MNCs) account for almost 10% of the Irish workforce and are of crucial strategic importance for the economy due to the quality of the jobs involved, their export focus and the massive knock-on impact they have on the wider economy. That is why we have put in place a range of new measures to support extra jobs in this area over the past four years, such as extra IDA staff in foreign markets, increased skilled graduates and an improved tax offering.
“As I say each year, the challenge now is to build on this performance and ensure that we create more jobs and more economic impact.”
There was also increased investment in regions outside Dublin and Cork, for which there are ambitions target set as part of Horizon 2020. 37% of total investment went to locations outside the republic’s two largest cities, and increase by 7% compared to 2013.
Martin Shanahan, chief executive of the IDA, said that the focus of the IDA was “real jobs, real companies and real economic impact” and many benefits were being witnessed following the investment by MNCs. He said he was confident for “the future flow of investment” during 2015.
