Multinationals in Ireland increase direct investments to €261bn

Ireland was famously accused by Nobel economist Paul Krugman of engaging in “Leprechaun economics” when GDP figures purportedly showed the economy grew in size by 26% in 2015.

The huge effects that multinationals play in investing and creating jobs in the Irish economy have been laid bare but the levels of foreign direct investment are lower than the headline figures at first might suggest, the latest CSO data show.

The headline figures show that there was €1.5 trillion in stock of foreign direct investment in 2019, or €1trn, when so-called reverse investments are taken into account and excluded.