Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 March 2026
235. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment to outline in detail the impact of US direct foreign investment in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23304/26]
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. My Department works closely with IDA Ireland and other stakeholders to ensure a strong pipeline of foreign direct investment into Ireland.
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. IDA client-company 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.
The South-West Region is home to 245 IDA client companies employing 53,535 people. 17 of these are in Kerry employing 2,110. The FDI performance in the South-West Region, Cork and Kerry has been consistent over the past five years with employment among IDA clients increasing by 12.3%. The South-West has a significant ecosystem of well-established companies across Technology, Life Sciences, International Financial Services and Engineering & Industrial Technologies and has also won significant investment across all these sectors over a sustained period which has contributed significantly to employment growth and positive economic impacts on other sectors of the economy.
There are 145 client operations of US origin in the South-West, contributing total employment of 42,249 (year-on-year growth of 3.1%). IDA clients in the South-West region spent a total of €6.5 billion in the Irish Economy in 2024 across Payroll, Irish sourced Materials and Services with year-on-year growth of 2.5%. Companies of US origin accounted for 13% of this spend.
IDA Ireland is continuing its strong commitment to regional development as one of its four key strategic objectives of its new strategy, ‘Adapt Intelligently’. This ambitious strategy aims to secure 550 investments outside Dublin in the period from 2025 to 2029, accounting for 55% of all planned investments. The IDA has set ambitious targets for every region in Ireland, including for 155 investments in the South-West.
As the Deputy is aware, the availability of suitable property and strategic sites is a critical component of the regional value proposition and can be the key differentiator in investment decisions in the regions. It is crucial that the South-West region has a competitive, sustainable property offering to enable the attraction and retention of investment to sustain further job creation and economic impact in Kerry.
IDA has made considerable investments in land and infrastructure across the South-West region. IDA has c.7.9 hectares in 4 locations in County Kerry and has undertaken several key initiatives to enhance the attractiveness and readiness of these lands for prospective investors. Under its current strategy IDA plans to secure an Advanced Planning permit for a second building in the Tralee Technology Park and undertake additional upgrade works and investments across IDA Parks in the region to ensure a robust value proposition for clients. IDA also continues to collaborate closely with national and local stakeholders to foster the conditions necessary for investment, innovation, and job creation to maximise the impact of FDI in Ireland and its regions.
