American Independence in Ireland

US Companies Continuing to Create Jobs and Invest in Ireland Say American Chamber of Commerce

According to a new survey from the American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland, the 600 US companies located in Ireland are flourishing, with over 70 of them actively looking to fill 1250 current job vacancies in roles such as engineering, R&D, production, finance and office administration. The announcement comes as Stream Global Services says that it is to invest €2.5 million in a new dedicated solution centre in Swords, Co Dublin as a result of signing a deal to provide support for fellow US company Microsoft's xBOX. The company will recruit a further 425 multilingual technical support professionals over the coming twelve months. 

Publishing the results of the survey at the Chamber's Annual Independence Day Lunch on Friday, Mr. Lionel Alexander (pictured), President of the Chamber said that since the beginning of this year 23 US companies have announced major investment in Ireland, which will result in over 2,000 new jobs in the coming years. "More than 10 of these investments have been in research and development, which further embeds Ireland within the global corporation. At a time when competition for FDI has never been greater, this investment and these new jobs are very welcome".

"The success of Ireland in attracting this investment can get lost in the continuous doom and gloom stories we hear every day on our radio stations, on our television screens and in our newspapers. So it is important that we recognise the success of these companies in winning this investment and jobs for Ireland and that we congratulate IDA Ireland and the Government for their role in securing this investment", he said.

Today, almost 100,000 people are directly employed in over 600 US firms in Ireland, which accounts for 70% of all IDA supported employment. During 2009, the IDA announced 125 new and expansion projects and almost two out of every three foreign direct investment projects coming to Ireland in 2008 have originated from the US. In 2008, US firms paid over €3b to the Irish Exchequer Taxes such as Corporation Tax, VAT, and Payroll taxes (or approx 40% of total corporate tax take in 2008) and contributed a further €15b in expenditure to the Irish economy in terms of payrolls, goods and services employed in their operations.

Aside from the job creation, the 100 respondents to the survey also said Ireland has become more competitive in the current recession. 82 per cent believe Ireland has become more competitive, with 81 per cent noticing a reduction in the cost of doing business in Ireland. Labour, energy and transport costs have all reduced according to respondents of our survey.

Mr. Alexander cautioned that while any reduction in the cost of doing business is welcome, the cost improvements are cyclical in nature, arising from the recession, as opposed to structural improvements which will deliver sustained cost reductions. "This is the real challenge for Ireland - maintaining these cost improvements as the country once again returns to growth. We cannot allow a return to the excesses we witnessed during the boom times or we will lose these very important competitive gains", he said.

"While much still needs to be done - on the education front, on investment in infrastructure and in the delivery of the smart economy, the strong message which we can take away from this survey and from the levels of investment secured by US companies in Ireland this year is that Ireland remains a location of choice for US companies and that these companies are confident of Ireland's ability to emerge from the current recession", he said.

Ms Joanne Richardson, Chief Executive of the American Chamber also echoed this, saying; "To continue to avail of opportunities created by US companies, Ireland must continue to invest in enhancing its telecommunications infrastructure. In particular the Chamber is keen to see the speedy rollout nationwide of Next Generation Broadband services to enhance the attractiveness of Ireland to the growing number of services firms who chose to locate here."

Mr. Alexander concluded, "The presence of US multinational companies has helped shield Ireland from the ravages of the recession. While it is encouraging that the latest data from the CSO showed economic growth returning to Ireland it will take time for this to translate into an increase in jobs. In this context that US companies are continuing to create employment in Ireland is all the more welcome".

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