IDA developments in 2004 worth €5bn

IDA Ireland enjoyed its best year since 2000, negotiating 70 projects with new and existing clients involving investment of €5 billion over time.

Those successes will generate up to 9,000 jobs in higher investment areas of manufacturing.

However, job losses of 10,628 were just slightly less than the job gains of 10,825.

The performance did signal the best year for the state industrial development company since 2000.

Investment highlights this year include: Intel’s Fab 24-2 investment; Guidant’s 1,000 jobs expansion in Clonmel; and critical breakthrough investments in R&D from Bell labs, IBM and HP.

Biopharmaceutical investments from Centocor and Pfizer were announced, while Merrill Lynch, Kellogg’s, Business Objects and McAfee announced the establishment of European centres, with Dell announcing the expansion and upgrading of its Irish services operations.

IDA boss Seán Dorgan said the overall level of activity during 2004 was satisfactory.

One of the key reasons for such important gains during the year remains the “quality of the Irish workforce, which continued to be a key competitive advantage”, he said.

High quality skills and the ability of the workforce to use knowledge quickly have impressed overseas investors.

Those qualities have allowed IDA Ireland to continue to push investment strategy into the high value added area which could not be done without the right skills base and the education facilities that make this possible, he said.

“The quality of overseas investment is changing the economic landscape in Ireland and reflects great credit on the Irish workforce. 2004 has been a year of quality in investment from overseas in Ireland,” he said.

Buoyancy has been experienced across all of the business sectors IDA operates in, with quality investment generated by both manufacturing and services. Over the year there was a “noticeable recovery in the ICT sector,” he said.

Mr Dorgan said over 48% of the new jobs will pay salaries over €37,000 per annum.

Investment in R&D resulted in 36 projects that were supported by the IDA in 2004 and which involved a total investment package of €140 million.

The number of new jobs created during the year totalled 10,825, on a par with the job figures generated during the mid-nineties.

Job losses for the year amounted to 10,628, 20% less than the previous year.