Every region offers access to talent, property and infrastructure and all the support that a multinational business needs.
IDA Ireland’s most recent annual results prove this: during 2025, 57% of all foreign direct investment projects into Ireland were in the regions and currently 54% of direct employment supported by IDA clients is based outside Dublin. This profile of FDI investment is evident of the agency’s stated aim to continue attracting investment to locations throughout the State.
A range of regional locations
Whether a company is establishing a new international base for the first time in Ireland, or companies with existing operations here that want to expand their activity to a second site, Ireland’s diverse regions provide choices to investors, be it for manufacturing, research and development or business services.From a purely investment-focused perspective; this approach makes sense: by avoiding overconcentration in any one area, companies aren’t competing with each other for talent or resources.
IDA Ireland actively encourages investors to consider several potential options when choosing a location in Ireland. The competitive corporation tax regime in the Republic of Ireland is consistent across all regions, as are income tax rates, which are important considerations for international companies looking for attractive locations to invest.
And there are compelling reasons to locate in the regions. Cities like Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford, as well as our smaller growth centres, are transforming. Urban populations are growing in the regions as the Government's deliberate interventions including investment in infrastructure and public realm and placemaking initiatives are bearing fruit. Major road and public transport projects, enhanced international connectivity and large scale regeneration initiatives are improving accessibility and supporting compact growth.
Sustained investment in third level institutions means that regional locations have a strong pipeline of skills underpinned by an extensive network of world-class research centres. These institutes and research centres work closely with local industry to produce graduates and skills aligned with enterprise needs.
Future focus: investing in infrastructure
As Ireland’s regions continue to grow, the pace, sequencing and coordination of infrastructure is critical. Ensuring transport, water and energy infrastructure is delivered in a timely way is central to sustaining competitiveness and enabling future investment in the regions.The Irish Government has put in place a programme for its Accelerating Infrastructure delivery, which aims to tackle barriers to infrastructure provision and speed up the deployment of €102 billion in capital expenditure planned between now and 2030. This will accelerate project delivery, reduce costs, and drive competitiveness in the Irish economy.
Continued FDI commitment into regional sites
But this is not just a story about the future: Ireland has already welcomed more than 1,800 multinationals, many based in regional locations. And there is no better endorsement of those places that many of these companies have chosen to invest further, further strengthening their ties to their communities. It is noticeable that many of these projects now involve high-value activity such as research and development. In 2024, Ericsson marked its 50th anniversary in Athlone, in Ireland’s midlands; the following year, the company committed €200 million to research and innovation at its Athlone facility.In the southeast, in Waterford, IBM created 75 new software engineering roles focused primarily on R&D. In Cork, GE Healthcare is investing €132 million to expand its contrast media fill-and-finish manufacturing site.
Financial services finds a home across Ireland
The financial services sector has proven that teams can scale up and serve global organisations from right across Ireland. In 2000, State Street, one of the world’s largest asset managers, chose the city of Kilkenny to place a significant part of its workforce. Some 25 years later, the firm reinvested in the regional location by opening a global cybersecurity centre. As one of only two such sites for the business worldwide, this is a high-value strategic operation.The investment management company Northern Trust established an office in Limerick, in Ireland’s Midwest, in 2007. Today, it employs more than 1,400 people, out of its 1,800-strong Irish workforce. Limerick is also home to a significant manufacturing facility for the pharmaceuticals giant Eli Lilly. In the space of one year from 2023 to 2024, the company doubled the investment from $1 billion to $2 billion, to increase production of biologic active ingredients, including treatments for early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease.
Lilly also manufactures diabetes and obesity treatments at a facility in Kinsale, County Cork, on the south coast of Ireland, which it expanded in 2024 at a cost of $800 million. No mention of Cork is complete without referring to Apple, which has had operations in the city since 1980, evolving and growing in the intervening years.
Highly educated workforce available in every region
A large part of the reason why multinationals have chosen Ireland as a major strategic location is the availability of skilled talent across all regions. Data from the Central Statistics Office shows that 56% of people aged 25-64 in Ireland have a third-level qualification, compared with an EU average of 35%.It’s not just in the numbers of people available to industry: another critical aspect is how the business community interacts with the education system to work together on developing a pipeline of skilled talent. This means a company like Meissner Filtration Products can establish its first European manufacturing plant in Castlebar, County Mayo and be sure that it has sufficient staff for its operations.
This model of collaboration with nearby technological universities and institutes is replicated across Ireland, open to working with industry in creating or augmenting courses matched to their needs.
Often, IDA Ireland’s discussions with potential investors include a talent mapping exercise: we have a tool that allows a medtech company looking to locate in Sligo, for example, to understand the talent available nearby, and assess existing courses and research centres associated with that, to help businesses make the right investment decisions.
IDA Ireland: pro bono support for inward investment
This kind of support is available from IDA Ireland no matter where a company chooses to locate within the country. In fact, many multinationals don’t realise that the agency’s services are pro bono. As an agency of the Government of Ireland, our goal is partnership, not profit.The support we provide to companies goes beyond contractual obligations or terms of agreement: it’s in our collective efforts to make introductions, start conversations, open doors to local authorities and infrastructure providers, to chambers of commerce and skills fora, to universities and service providers.
Another key element of IDA Ireland’s partnership approach is our regional property programme that ensures a consistent pipeline of land, buildings, and infrastructure is available to FDI. This property portfolio includes a number of completed building solutions in regional cities and growth centres.
These high-quality, turnkey developments are specifically built to attract businesses and major FDI projects, and are able to accommodate hundreds of employees. They offer a mix of office space, technology facilities or manufacturing operations as needed and are readily scalable. In fact, Lilly’s recent investment was facilitated by IDA Ireland’s property team having a serviced site available for immediate occupation. Similarly, an advanced technology building developed by IDA Ireland in County Mayo, in the West of Ireland, became the location for Meissner Filtration Products’ manufacturing plant.
It is this ready supply of high-quality, strategically located and serviced sites that enables IDA Ireland to respond quickly to investor requirements, reduce project lead times, and maintain Ireland’s competitive position internationally.
This holistic support, together with the availability of talent and infrastructure, ensures that companies experience a smooth landing wherever they choose to locate within Ireland.