Ireland ranks 11th in EU for Foreign Direct Investment

Ireland attracted 100 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects last year, placing it 11th on the European league table of the most attractive investment destinations – down from 10th place in 2022.

The latest EY European Attractiveness Survey also shows that Dublin ranks 7th in terms of the best city for attracting FDI over the next three years, behind London, Paris, Zurich, Munich, Barcelona and Frankfurt.

France continued to lead in Europe for FDI projects, with the UK second and Germany ranked third.

Today’s data shows that total FDI projects in Europe were down 4% on 2022, due to slow economic growth, high inflation, energy-related challenges and a volatile geopolitical environment.

This was the continent’s lowest FDI total since 2020 and was 11% lower than its pre-pandemic level and 14% lower than 2017 – which represented Europe’s peak for projects in the last decade.

“Europe’s loss of FDI momentum in 2023 is disappointing, with Ireland’s performance reflective of this wider trend,” said Feargal de Freine, Assurance Partner at EY Ireland.

“Despite an exceptionally challenging external environment we did, however, only slip one place in the annual ranking of countries and notably Dublin features among the top 10 cities in terms of future attractiveness to investors,” he added.