Foreign spending rises by 50%

THERE has been a 50% rise in the level of foreign investment in Ireland this year, it was revealed yesterday.

New statistics showed the Republic was the main beneficiary of a Europe-wide increase in inward investment in the first six months of the year.

Ireland enjoyed growth of 50%, almost twice the European average of 27%between January and June, compared to the same period last year.

Head of project finance at Ernst & Young Ireland Des McCann, said the State’s figures were very encouraging.

“While traditional locations for foreign direct investment in Europe such as France and Spain continue to see a fall-off in investment figures, Ireland continues to hold its share at around 3%,” he said.

“Given the continued trend towards the East, this remains a very credible performance.

“Ireland continues to benefit from investment in traditional areas such as computing and software.”

Of the 42 projects announced in Ireland this year, 73% were expansions by existing foreign companies based in Ireland, while the remaining 27% were new Greenfield sites.

The Irish market share of total foreign direct investment in Europe was 3% for the first six months of 2004, in comparison to 2% in 2003.

The largest percentage of investment went to Britain, with 22% of total European investment.

Manufacturing was the main investment activity in Ireland with 11 projects accounting for 26% of the total investment for the period.

Mr McCann said the results for 2004 indicate a return to significant growth across the continent following several years of decline in inward investment.

The most striking trend to emerge was exceptionally strong growth in Eastern Europe.

The Big Four of Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland and Russia saw a major increase in project numbers.