Rachel Shelly
Head of Life Sciences & Food and Talent, Transformation & Innovation, IDA Ireland
Ireland’s continued resilience and robustness as an investment location is due to the remarkable fortitude and dynamism of our existing foreign direct investment (FDI) base, partnership across the entire ecosystem and with the Government.
IDA Ireland partners with 1,800 multinational companies that are diverse and spread across sectors at the forefront of the modern global economy — from biopharmaceuticals, medical technologies, engineering, technology and financial services.
Strategy for Ireland to win new investment
Volatility and headwinds facing the global economy mean we have to work even harder to win new investments. IDA’s strategy (2021–2024) is centred around five pillars: growth, transformation, regions, sustainability and impact. The transformation pillar focuses on increasing the competitiveness, agility and resilience of Irish operations through RD&I, digitalisation, talent development and sustainability. This strategy directly aligns with the Government’s White Paper on Enterprise 2022–2030.
Manufacturing remains a significant contributor
to the Irish economy. In 2022, it accounted for
39% of GDP and €208 billion in exports.
Value of manufacturing in Ireland
Manufacturing remains a significant contributor to the Irish economy. In 2022, it accounted for 39% of GDP and €208 billion in exports. As manufacturers look to develop and drive innovative future pipelines, national Industry 5.0 capabilities are becoming the benchmark for attracting high-value, flagship investments.
Organisations are pivoting towards agile, flexible, digitally enabled manufacturing platforms that also offer opportunities for significant abatement of energy-intensive processing. Digitally enabled manufacturing and sustainability practices are increasingly intertwined, as we see with the arrival of continuous manufacturing to life sciences sites.
Digital growth in Irish manufacturing
A strong ecosystem is key to success. IDA recently supported the €21 million expansion of NIBRT to respond to the research and training needs of the cell and gene therapy community. In March, Minister Coveney launched Digital Manufacturing Ireland (DMI) in Limerick. Industry-led and complementing existing resources, DMI provides a collaborative physical and digital environment for the acceleration of technologies to ‘digitise’ Ireland’s manufacturing base and supply chain partners. Critically, DMI provides training in emergent platforms to upskill the workforce in line with future production skills needs.
Ireland does not take our success to date in attracting and retaining investment for granted. The twin digital and green transition will bring challenges and opportunities that require an agile response. As companies navigate an increasingly complex path to international success, Ireland stands ready as an open, stable and reliable partner.