Skip to main content
Introduction
Chairperson, members, thank you for the invitation to speak with you today about the importance of renewable energy generation and Ireland’s national grid capacity to the attraction and retention of foreign direct investment (FDI). I am Mary Buckley, Executive Director, IDA Ireland, and I am joined by Breda O’Sullivan (Divisional Manager Corporate Strategy & Policy) and Matt Kennedy (Divisional Manager Client Transformation).
IDA Ireland’s Purpose and Strategy
IDA Ireland is the state agency (under the auspices of the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment) tasked with attracting and retaining FDI, focusing on building sustainable partnerships with client companies that support economic opportunities for Ireland. The agency works with companies throughout their investment journey, from early-stage research and site selection through to embedding, expansion, and reinvestment.
IDA Ireland targets new and existing clients for investments, focusing on core sectors for FDI in which Ireland has an established base and a proven investment proposition – technology, international financial services, pharmaceuticals, medical technologies, engineering, and the green economy. The economic and employment impact of the 1,800 client company operations in the portfolio remains at record levels. Employment in IDA Ireland client companies increased by 1.5% year-on-year in 2025 to 312,4001. Annual client expenditure on payroll, Irish materials, and Irish services, totalled over €40bn in 2024, with a further €12.8bn spent on capital expenditure projects.
14th January 2026
IDA Ireland’s 2025-29 strategy, ‘Adapt Intelligently’, aims to enhance Ireland’s economic performance by securing new investments and supporting existing companies in transforming, innovating, and expanding their Irish operations.
Targets for the 2025-29 strategy include:
Key Enablers for FDI in a Changing Global Context
Ireland’s strong FDI performance in 2025 reflects the country’s resilience and continued competitiveness and attractiveness for FDI. However, in an era of intense global competition for FDI investment we cannot become complacent. While international factors are largely outside of our control, we can shape the domestic factors that are critical to Ireland’s ability to succeed by ensuring policy certainty and an enabling environment. Key enablers for ongoing success and attractiveness include robust infrastructure, policy stability, market access, incentives, and talent availability. The commitments in the revised National Development Plan, coupled with the reforms set out in the Government’s Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan, are welcome steps in enabling continued enterprise growth and economic opportunity in the future.
Critical Role of Cost-Competitive Sustainable Energy
Ireland’s ability to retain and renew our FDI base and indeed, all enterprise, is fundamentally linked to having a secure supply of cost competitive sustainable energy to meet the demands of today and accommodate continued enterprise growth in the years ahead. As global competition increases, Ireland’s energy sources must transition towards clean, renewable, and cost competitive forms to maintain its attractiveness for investment.
Ireland’s future ambitions, including winning investment across key FDI growth drivers (AI & digital, semiconductors, sustainability and health), and further advancing regional development through energy-intensive and transformational Next Generation Sites, will also be shaped by capacity and cost of energy.
Managing energy costs is crucial for Ireland’s global competitiveness. As Ireland invests heavily in grid modernisation and decarbonisation, it is vital that prices are
monitored carefully to avoid discouraging investment or disproportionately affecting enterprise.
The government’s recent policy commitments are very welcome – the Large Energy Users Action Plan, NDP Review, the Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan, and the Competitiveness and Productivity Action Plan – along with Budget 2026 funding allocations – all aim to address grid constraints and energy costs.
Renewable Energy Generation and Grid Capacity
Developing renewable energy and reinforcing the grid are strategic imperatives for Ireland’s competitiveness and FDI strategy. The three main drivers of industrial energy demand are:
IDA Ireland contributes to the low-carbon transition by embedding sustainability measures in its regional property programme to support both IDA and EI Clients, including promoting on-site renewable energy projects, which require robust and expandable grid infrastructure. We also provide sustainability supports to our clients to drive energy efficiencies and to decarbonise their operations.
Recent Progress and Policy Developments
Significant progress was made in 2025, including:
I want to thank the members of the Committee for the opportunity to attend today and for continuing to highlight this very important topic.
In conclusion, Ireland continues to be a premier location for FDI with a record number of investments secured by IDA Ireland during 2025. Our total client employment now stands at over 312,000 with 170,000 in regional locations. This fully supports the Government’s objectives for more balanced regional development.
However, we cannot be complacent, and therefore, having a secure, competitive energy supply is fundamental to retaining and expanding our FDI base and driving success across the enterprise sector. Progress made in 2025 has set the stage, but maintaining a sharp focus on delivering increased grid capacity and competitive energy costs in 2026 and beyond is critical for Ireland’s ongoing economic success and its ambition to lead in the green economy.
IDA Ireland will continue to work collaboratively with its partners and stakeholders (including Eirgrid and Bord na Mona here today) to support swift delivery as we continue our focus on retaining and winning new investments for Ireland and its people.
Chairperson, members, thank you for the invitation to speak with you today about the importance of renewable energy generation and Ireland’s national grid capacity to the attraction and retention of foreign direct investment (FDI). I am Mary Buckley, Executive Director, IDA Ireland, and I am joined by Breda O’Sullivan (Divisional Manager Corporate Strategy & Policy) and Matt Kennedy (Divisional Manager Client Transformation).
IDA Ireland’s Purpose and Strategy
IDA Ireland is the state agency (under the auspices of the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment) tasked with attracting and retaining FDI, focusing on building sustainable partnerships with client companies that support economic opportunities for Ireland. The agency works with companies throughout their investment journey, from early-stage research and site selection through to embedding, expansion, and reinvestment.
IDA Ireland targets new and existing clients for investments, focusing on core sectors for FDI in which Ireland has an established base and a proven investment proposition – technology, international financial services, pharmaceuticals, medical technologies, engineering, and the green economy. The economic and employment impact of the 1,800 client company operations in the portfolio remains at record levels. Employment in IDA Ireland client companies increased by 1.5% year-on-year in 2025 to 312,4001. Annual client expenditure on payroll, Irish materials, and Irish services, totalled over €40bn in 2024, with a further €12.8bn spent on capital expenditure projects.
14th January 2026
IDA Ireland’s 2025-29 strategy, ‘Adapt Intelligently’, aims to enhance Ireland’s economic performance by securing new investments and supporting existing companies in transforming, innovating, and expanding their Irish operations.
Targets for the 2025-29 strategy include:
- Securing 1,000 investments
- Securing 55% of all investments for regional locations
- Driving €7 billion in new research and development spending
- Creating 75,000 new jobs and upskilling 40,000 people
- Reducing IDA client carbon emissions by 35% by 2030
- Supporting €250 billion in economic activity over five years
Key Enablers for FDI in a Changing Global Context
Ireland’s strong FDI performance in 2025 reflects the country’s resilience and continued competitiveness and attractiveness for FDI. However, in an era of intense global competition for FDI investment we cannot become complacent. While international factors are largely outside of our control, we can shape the domestic factors that are critical to Ireland’s ability to succeed by ensuring policy certainty and an enabling environment. Key enablers for ongoing success and attractiveness include robust infrastructure, policy stability, market access, incentives, and talent availability. The commitments in the revised National Development Plan, coupled with the reforms set out in the Government’s Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan, are welcome steps in enabling continued enterprise growth and economic opportunity in the future.
Critical Role of Cost-Competitive Sustainable Energy
Ireland’s ability to retain and renew our FDI base and indeed, all enterprise, is fundamentally linked to having a secure supply of cost competitive sustainable energy to meet the demands of today and accommodate continued enterprise growth in the years ahead. As global competition increases, Ireland’s energy sources must transition towards clean, renewable, and cost competitive forms to maintain its attractiveness for investment.
Ireland’s future ambitions, including winning investment across key FDI growth drivers (AI & digital, semiconductors, sustainability and health), and further advancing regional development through energy-intensive and transformational Next Generation Sites, will also be shaped by capacity and cost of energy.
Managing energy costs is crucial for Ireland’s global competitiveness. As Ireland invests heavily in grid modernisation and decarbonisation, it is vital that prices are
monitored carefully to avoid discouraging investment or disproportionately affecting enterprise.
The government’s recent policy commitments are very welcome – the Large Energy Users Action Plan, NDP Review, the Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan, and the Competitiveness and Productivity Action Plan – along with Budget 2026 funding allocations – all aim to address grid constraints and energy costs.
Renewable Energy Generation and Grid Capacity
Developing renewable energy and reinforcing the grid are strategic imperatives for Ireland’s competitiveness and FDI strategy. The three main drivers of industrial energy demand are:
- Decarbonising established industry, requiring access to reinforced grid capacity to replace fossil fuels with cleaner electric technologies.
- Supporting the growth of existing operations, which increases energy needs and necessitates a shift to renewable solutions.
- Attracting new investments, as companies increasingly require access to clean, cost competitive, secure, and scalable energy.
IDA Ireland contributes to the low-carbon transition by embedding sustainability measures in its regional property programme to support both IDA and EI Clients, including promoting on-site renewable energy projects, which require robust and expandable grid infrastructure. We also provide sustainability supports to our clients to drive energy efficiencies and to decarbonise their operations.
Recent Progress and Policy Developments
Significant progress was made in 2025, including:
- The latest CRU Price Review 6, enabling a record investment in the transmission and distribution grid
- Publication of the CRU review of Large Energy Users Connection Policy
- Commencement of the Celtic Interconnector project with France
- New Private Wires policy statement
- Recent offshore wind auctions
I want to thank the members of the Committee for the opportunity to attend today and for continuing to highlight this very important topic.
In conclusion, Ireland continues to be a premier location for FDI with a record number of investments secured by IDA Ireland during 2025. Our total client employment now stands at over 312,000 with 170,000 in regional locations. This fully supports the Government’s objectives for more balanced regional development.
However, we cannot be complacent, and therefore, having a secure, competitive energy supply is fundamental to retaining and expanding our FDI base and driving success across the enterprise sector. Progress made in 2025 has set the stage, but maintaining a sharp focus on delivering increased grid capacity and competitive energy costs in 2026 and beyond is critical for Ireland’s ongoing economic success and its ambition to lead in the green economy.
IDA Ireland will continue to work collaboratively with its partners and stakeholders (including Eirgrid and Bord na Mona here today) to support swift delivery as we continue our focus on retaining and winning new investments for Ireland and its people.
