Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 28 January 2026
40. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the number of IDA-supported jobs in each county at the end of 2025, on a county-by-county basis, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6755/26]
View answerForeign Direct Investment is a key element of our economic strategy, with investments by IDA Ireland client companies consistently generating highly skilled jobs nationwide. In this context, I launched IDA Ireland's current strategy, ‘Adapt Intelligently: A Strategy for Sustainable Growth and Innovation 2025-29', in February last year. Central to the 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. In this regard, IDA client-company employment increased to 312,468 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 IDA client-company employment nationally.
Under its current strategy, IDA is targeting 550 of a total 1,000 investments to regional locations. 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.
The number of jobs at companies supported by Enterprise Ireland also showed a net increase of 2,938 last year, rising to 232,425. 12,608 jobs were created by EI supported companies last year, 69% of these jobs were located outside the Dublin region - with all nine regions recording jobs growth.
In addition, the 31 Local Enterprise Offices supported 40,285 jobs in 2025, the highest level since their establishment. LEO client companies created 7,261 new jobs last year- a 7% increase on 2024. 82% of these new jobs were created outside Dublin, highlighting the impact of targeted local supports.
As requested by the Deputy, the number of IDA supported jobs by county in 2025 is set out in the table below.
|
County |
IDA Supported Jobs 2025 |
|
Cavan |
1,557 |
|
Donegal |
5,687 |
|
Leitrim |
1,196 |
|
Monaghan |
265 |
|
Sligo |
2,860 |
|
Dublin |
142,501 |
|
Kildare |
10,258 |
|
Louth |
4,048 |
|
Meath |
3,151 |
|
Wicklow |
2,827 |
|
Clare |
6,136 |
|
Limerick |
16,359 |
|
Tipperary |
5,630 |
|
Laois |
156 |
|
Longford |
1,572 |
|
Offaly |
1,299 |
|
Westmeath |
4,474 |
|
Carlow |
1,428 |
|
Kilkenny |
2,172 |
|
Waterford |
9,391 |
|
Wexford |
3,404 |
|
Cork |
51,425 |
|
Kerry |
2,110 |
|
Galway |
25,430 |
|
Mayo |
5,507 |
|
Roscommon |
1,625 |
|
Total |
312,468 |
Finally, I would like to assure the Deputy that the Government is fully aware of the competitiveness challenge the country faces as it competes for foreign direct investment. We are taking the necessary steps to position Ireland for the future, and we will continue to place costs, planning, energy and R&D at the centre of our forward-looking policy making – all reflected in policy commitments in the new Programme for Government, the Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity and NDP priorities.
