Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 28 January 2026
37. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the extent of existing economic, trade and investment links between Ireland and a state (details supplied); if he will provide an overview of current engagement by his Department and its agencies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6736/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Minister for Enterprise Tourism and Employment I am committed to strengthening and expanding our trade and investment relations with the US. The US is Ireland’s largest trading partner and as Minister my department and agencies are eager to promote international trade and investment, for instance by undertaking overseas trade missions and other promotional events led by Government Ministers.
Ireland also regularly receives inward trade related visits, and the Government stands ready to support and engage with these visits and welcomes all bipartisan initiatives that consolidate, deepen and enhance the two-way economic relationship.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) compiles statistical data in relation to imports and exports. These statistics can be found on the website cso.ie. The CSO provides data on a country/state level and therefore, while data is available for imports and exports from USA, the more detailed breakdown for the State of Tennessee in USA is not available:
However, recent research paper carried out by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for 2024 indicates the following:
Tennessee and Ireland:
Number of companies and employees:
There are over 4,000 employees in 9 Irish owned companies in Tennessee.
There are over 2,000 employees in 6 Tennessee owned companies in Ireland.
Trade:
In 2024, export trade in goods from Ireland to Tennessee was valued at $8.1bn with the top three sectors being in Pharmaceuticals, Medical devices and Metals and Minerals.
In the same period export trade in goods from Tennessee to Ireland was valued at $101m, a 13.4% growth since 2023, with the top three sectors being in Pharmaceuticals, Medical devices and Electrical Machinery.
FDI
Since 2020, companies from Ireland have invested 6 projects into Tennessee which are expected to generate $115m in capital expenditures and create 669 direct jobs and 1,621 indirect jobs with an economic impact of €164m.
Top Sectors for investment include Software and IT Services, Biotechnology and Business Services.
In the same time period companies from Tennessee have invested 7 projects into Ireland with are expected to generate $116 m in capital expenditures and create 397 direct jobs and 1,447 indirect jobs with an economic impact of $307m.
Top Sectors for investment include Software and IT Services, Textiles and Transportation and Warehousing.
Tourism and Diaspora:
There is a direct flight to Nashville from Dublin and in 2023 there were 14,400 visitors from Tennessee to Ireland.
In the same period there were 4,095 Irish visitors to Tennessee.
There were over 616,380 people in Tennessee with Irish heritage in 2023 representing 8.6% of the population.
Research Partnerships:
The University of Tennessee and Maryville college have partnerships with Irish institutions and there are currently 17 Academic projects and 3 non-academic projects ongoing.
