Ireland in Europe's Top 10 for FDI attractiveness FDI attractiveness

Ireland remains an attractive location for foreign direct investment (FDI) with investor sentiment positive and overall investment here holding steady even as Europe continues a multi-year decline in inbound investment. That's according to the EY European Attractiveness Survey, which tracks cross-border investment projects resulting in new facilities and job creation across the continent. Ireland attracted 75 FDI projects in 2025, matching 2024 levels. This places it 15th overall in Europe, up two places from last year, and tenth on a per-population basis. United States investment made up more than half (53%) of inbound FDI to Ireland, consistent with historical levels and considerably higher than the 19% average held by US FDI across Europe. The regional profile was balanced, with 41% of projects in locations outside of Dublin. Ireland ranked tenth in Europe by investors in terms of FDI attractiveness for 2026, with investors pointing to a range of factors that make Ireland an attractive location for future FDI investment. These include our EU location and the access to new markets and customers this brings, competitive tax policy – most notably the R&D tax credit, talent, language and cultural ties to North America in particular. In contrast, inward investment for Europe fell to a ten-year low in 2025, with a 7% drop in projects when compared to 2024. Total projects across the continent in 2025 (5,023) were 22% lower than the 2019 pre-pandemic level (6,412). While the number of projects from US investors in Europe stabilised during 2025, it remains 38% below its 2019 peak. This is driven by industrial policy decisions by successive US administrations, as well as perceptions by investors of weaker growth prospects, regulatory complexity, higher operating costs and policy fragmentation. Software and IT services (33) was Ireland's leading FDI sector during 2025, with the number of projects doubling versus 2024, and the sector accounted for more than 40% of the year's total. Business services (14) and financial services (9) projects were the next two largest FDI sectors in Ireland. A key highlight of the research is the strength of the Irish innovation economy. Research and development projects (R&D) accounted for 25% of Irish investments, far ahead of the total European share of 7%. This confirms Ireland's position as a leading knowledge economy with a strong capacity to attract innovation-driven investment and supported by an internationally competitive R&D tax credit regime. Ireland was also rated highly as a location for AI investment, innovation and deployment. However, the research also identified risks to Ireland's future attractiveness. Ireland is perceived as having challenges in terms of infrastructure, and the cost of energy, labour and other inputs. Infrastructure constraints was the top-rated risk affecting Ireland's future attractiveness, rising from sixth in the previous year's survey. EY Ireland Partner and Head of FDI Feargal de Freine said: "In what was another challenging year for FDI in Europe, holding our own is a strong outcome for Ireland as is the continued strength of investor sentiment towards Ireland. Our performances in software and R&D in particular highlight our enduring advantage in these fields, while Ireland was also rated highly as a location for AI investment, innovation and deployment. However, the broader European trend points towards a structural shift in global FDI investment that has been underway for several years now, as countries utilise industrial policy to aggressively court investment. Events over the past 12 to 18 months have accelerated this agenda, and businesses and policymakers are seeking to navigate disruption across a range of fields simultaneously, including geopolitical risk, economic shock and technological disruption. Carol Murphy, EY Ireland Partner and Head of Markets said: "It is encouraging to see Ireland continuing to secure a disproportionately strong share of in...

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Ireland in Europe's Top 10 for FDI attractiveness FDI attractiveness is an episode from Irish Tech News Audio Articles by Irish Tech News.

This episode is 08:55 long.

This episode was published on Jun 2, 2026.

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