Investments into Ireland by foreign multinationals up 38%

The number of investments into Ireland by foreign multinational companies increased by 38% this year, compared with 2024, according to IDA Ireland.

There has also been a year-on-year increase in the number of jobs being generated through new investments, which is up by 14% on last year.

The inward investment agency’s end-of-year review shows that there were 323 investments secured during 2025, which it said is the highest number of projects in a single year.

The IDA said the projects are expected to lead to the creation of more than 15,300 jobs over the coming years.

The number of people employed in IDA client companies now stands at 312,400, which represents an increase of 1.5% on 2024, a net rise of 4,726 on last year.

It said multinationals supported by the IDA account for around 11% of the employment base in Ireland.

Despite a year of economic and technological change, the agency said Ireland continues to “remain attractive to new investors”.

A total of 78 of the investments secured during 2025 were made by companies new to Ireland, with 38 from North America and 40 from Europe and the Asia Pacific region.

The IDA said the diverse origin of the investments underscores its “focus on market diversification”.

There were also 68 expansions from existing client companies, which the agency said demonstrates its “focus on strengthening long-term investment”.

The IDA said there has been significant levels of regional investment, with 57% or 183 of the total number of investments made in the regions.

There were 80 investments in the area of Research, Development & Innovation (RD&I).

According to the report, 2025 has seen “a record level of future RD&I investment commitments of €2.5 billion by IDA Ireland clients, exceeding €2 billion in one year for the first time as companies invest in product development, and new and emerging technologies such as AI and Quantum Computing”.

Record investments result in ‘highest number of people employed across the FDI portfolio’

The Chief Executive of IDA Ireland said the country has proven to be “a trusted and stable location” for investment.

Michael Lohan said while it has been a year of uncertainty “we have also seen the resilience of the FDI sector”.

“When you look at it through our numbers, a record number of investments supported by IDA at 323, that’s actually bringing real jobs into the economy. We’ve seen the highest number of people employed across the FDI portfolio on the ground in every region of Ireland, above 312,000.”

He said there has also been a focus on “innovation, R&D and sustainability, and most importantly, to my mind, on skills development and future skills needs”.

Asked if the announcements throughout the year were kept low profile given President Donald Trump’s position on US companies investing overseas, Mr Lohan said while there may have not been the same level of public announcements, he said he was “not sure it was a deliberate strategy”.

“I do think it’s a reflection of the environment which we’re in, but through all of that, we still see the investments happen and see the strength of the investments,” Mr Lohan said.

“If we go back and we think of the announcements that have happened in Ireland and being publicly announced, we had Ericsson, for example, a very significant announcement. Just this morning we had the release of Toast with a new investment here in Dublin. So those investments continue.”

The IDA boss said the agency very much welcomes the investments that are being made.

“We’d love to celebrate those investments with public announcements, but in reality, what we also want to do is make sure that those investments continue to be embedded in Ireland, strengthen in Ireland, and continue to grow. Today’s numbers reflect that.”

The Chairperson of IDA Ireland said the number of investments and jobs created “exceeded” the agency’s most favourable projections at the start of the year.

Fergal O’Rourke said 2026 is being entered in “a very positive way” and “on a sounder footing”.

He said while there are still challenges, the outlook is “in a much more optimistic place” than the start of the year.