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The stock of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Ireland was €1,217bn at the end of 2021.
FDI in Ireland was 285% of GDP at the end of 2021, more than 4 times the EU average.
On an ultimate investor basis €924bn of the Inward Investment Positions in Ireland originated in the US, 76% of the total.
Inward investment that ultimately originated in Ireland, or round-tripping, was €71bn or 6% of the total positions. Round-tripping refers to domestic funds which leave an economy and return back as FDI.
In 2021 27% of Inward FDI positions were pass-through investment which can be defined as foreign multinationals investing in their Irish affiliates which then subsequently invest in another economy.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) today (23 June 2023) released Foreign Direct Investment in Ireland 2021.
Commenting on the release, Faris Bader, Statistician in the International Accounts Division said:
"This experimental research has been developed to add value to official statistics pertaining to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and globalisation and to highlight the relevance of FDI statistics and their role in the Irish economy. The results show that 76% of inward FDI to Ireland has an ultimate controlling parent in the United States, and that 65% of inward FDI is concentrated among the top 25 firms. The results also show that pass-through, which can be defined as foreign multinationals investing in their Irish affiliates which then subsequently invest in another economy, makes up 27% of inward FDI and that round-tripping, which refers to domestic funds that leave an economy and return as FDI, amounted to €71bn."