Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 January 2026
453. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the number of jobs the IDA supported in Carlow in 2025; how this compares to 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3547/26]
View answerI launched IDA Ireland's current strategy, ‘Adapt Intelligently: A Strategy for Sustainable Growth and Innovation 2025-29', in February last year. Central to IDA’s strategy is an emphasis on partnering with existing clients to identify opportunities to safeguard and strengthen long-term investment in Ireland, alongside attracting new investment to Ireland in FDI growth drivers including digitalisation and AI, semiconductors, health, and sustainability.
Supporting job creation in all regions is central to the work of my Department and our enterprise development agencies. We know that investments by IDA Ireland client companies consistently generate highly skilled jobs nationwide. IDA client employment increased to 312,400 in 2025 and there are currently 169,967 people employed in IDA client companies, outside Dublin with FDI employment in every region and every county of Ireland. This represents 54% of all FDI employment nationally. Employment grew in five regions plus Dublin, with the fastest pace of growth in the South-East - an increase of 3.9%.
To this end, the South-East Region, comprises counties Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford and Wexford, and is home to 83 IDA client companies, employing 16,395 people. The South-East has a significant ecosystem of well-established companies across Technology, Life Sciences, International Financial Services and Engineering & Industrial Technologies which are complemented by research centres that help win new business and assist existing client companies with transformation. Counties in the South-East also benefit from direct and indirect ‘remote’ and ‘hybrid’ employment generated by IDA client companies located in Dublin.
The FDI performance has been consistent over the six years requested by the Deputy, 2020-2025, with IDA supported employment increasing in the South-East by 2,107 people, or almost 15% over this period.
Referring specifically to Carlow, there were 1,309 people employed in IDA-client companies in 2020, and this rose to 1,428 in 2025, an increase of 9%, or 119 jobs.
Under its current strategy, IDA is targeting 550 of a total 1,000 investments to regional locations, including 60 in the South-East. The first year of this strategy, 2025, saw IDA Ireland achieving the highest ever number of investments, 323, a 38% increase on 2024, which are expected to create over 15,300 additional jobs in the coming years. 183 investments, 57% of all investments in 2025, were in regional locations.
Of course, my Department and our Agencies would also support other employment opportunities in Carlow and the South-East through Enterprise Ireland, the LEOs and the Tourism Development Agencies.
