Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 22 January 2026
345. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the number of jobs which have been created in County Kerry by the IDA during each of the past ten years, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5231/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra347. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the IDA's plans to create new jobs in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5233/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 345 and 347 together.
Foreign 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 312,400 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, comprising counties Cork and Kerry, is home to 245 IDA client companies, employing 53,535 people. There is a significant ecosystem of well-established companies across Technology, Life Sciences, International Financial Services and Engineering & Industrial Technologies in the region. The South-West has won significant investment across a range of sectors over a sustained period which has contributed significantly to employment growth and positive economic impacts on other sectors of the economy. Over the years requested by the Deputy, 2015-2025, FDI performance has been consistent with IDA supported employment increasing by 17,361 people, or almost 50%.
Referring specifically to Kerry, there were 1,955 people employed by 14 IDA client companies in 2015, and this has increased to 2,110 people employed by 17 IDA Client companies in 2025, an increase of almost 8%, or 155 people. Moreover, there were 4,627 people employed in 101 EI client companies in 2015, and this increased to 5,206 people in 89 client companies in 2024, an increase of 579, or 13%.
Employment in Kerry in IDA and Enterprise Ireland Client Firms 2015-2025.
|
- |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
|
IDA Client employment |
1,955 |
2,104 |
2,195 |
2,265 |
2,183 |
2,168 |
1,936 |
2,024 |
2,006 |
1,989 |
2,110 |
|
EI Client employment |
4,627 |
4,555 |
4,772 |
4,776 |
4,770 |
4,662 |
4,583 |
4,830 |
5,061 |
5,206 |
* |
|
Total |
6,582 |
6,659 |
6,967 |
7,041 |
6,953 |
6,830 |
6,519 |
6,854 |
7,067 |
7,195 |
* |
*2025 Enterprise Ireland Client Employment Figures are not yet available
Under its current strategy, IDA is targeting 550 of a total 1,000 investments to regional locations, including 155 in the South-West. 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.
I should also highlight that in March 2024, Astellas, an IDA Ireland Japanese pharma client turned the sod and commenced construction on a €330 million state-of-the-art facility in the Tralee Technology Park. This project is currently under construction and is projected to be fully operational by 2028. This is a transformative investment for Kerry. It will lead to significant job creation during the construction phase, and it will house more than 100 highly skilled science and engineering jobs on completion of the facility. As Astellas are already a significant employer in the Kerry region, operating an existing manufacturing site in Killorglin which attracts employees from across the county of Kerry, this recent announcement is a strong endorsement of what Kerry offers FDI investors.
Furthermore, in July 2025, Aenova, a leading pharmaceutical Contract Development & Manufacturing Organisation with a location in Killorglin announced a significant expansion of their Killorglin facility enabling the company to develop innovative drug delivery systems in the future. This expansion will create approximately 10 new highly skilled roles in the areas of R&D, Pharmaceutical Technology and Analytics in addition to the existing workforce.
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.
