Foreign Direct Investment in Ireland 2021

Source publication: Foreign Direct Investment Annual 2021

Get the data: PXStat BPA34

Figure 2.3 describes investment from the United States on an ultimate investment basis. The share of Irish FDI by US investments has risen steadily over the period shown, while their FDI positions have grown significantly following a large increase in 2015 relating to the financing of intellectual property in Ireland.

Figure 2.4 shows that Luxembourg receives the largest amount of FDI from Ireland on an immediate investor partner country basis. The figures for Singapore and the Cayman Islands are suppressed for confidentiality purposes.

Source publication: Foreign Direct Investment Annual 2021

Get the data: PXStat BPA34

Figure 2.6 shows Irish FDI income inflows on an immediate basis. These are profits earned on Irish investment abroad. Investments in Luxembourg, the United States and the Netherlands return the largest amount of FDI profits on an immediate investor partner country basis. Figures for the Cayman Islands, Isle of Man, Singapore and Malta are suppressed for confidentiality purposes.

Source publication: Foreign Direct Investment Annual 2021

Get the data: PXStat BPA37

Figure 2.7 shows Irish FDI income inflows on an ultimate basis. Profits coming into Ireland on FDI are dominated by the Redomiciled PLCs; they account for the majority of the FDI profit inflows. The increase in 2021 in US-ultimately controlled FDI inflows is due to an increase in flows going through Ireland.

For Irish FDI income outflows, shown in Figure 2.8, the US, Switzerland and the Netherlands received the largest amounts of profits on Irish investments on an immediate partner country basis in 2021. The figure for Jersey is suppressed for confidentiality purposes.

Source publication: Foreign Direct Investment Annual 2021

Get the data: PXStat BPA34

Figure 2.9 shows Irish FDI profit outflows on an ultimate controlling parent basis. This graph illustrates the significant amounts of profits accruing to the United States on their investments in Ireland. In 2021, the US accrued €116.8 billion in FDI income from its investments in Ireland. The differences between Figures 2.8 and 2.9 show that while these investments have origin in the US, they are going through affiliates and subsidiaries in other highly globalised countries on their way back to the US.

Figure 2.10 shows FDI income outflows to the United States over time and as a proportion of total FDI income outflows on an ultimate controlling parent basis. This graph shows a big increase in 2015 for the total amount of income accruing to the United States from investments in Ireland.

Figure 2.11 describes the distribution of FDI income outflows from Ireland. It shows that most of the profits made on FDI in Ireland are accruing to a small number of large firms; this can be seen by the high concentration of FDI income at the top of the distribution i.e., €88.6 billion in income outflows accruing to the top 25 firms in the distribution.

Figure 2.12 shows a time series of FDI income outflows by sector. The graph illustrates that the manufacturing sector receives the highest amount of income on its FDI investments in Ireland.

Source publication: Foreign Direct Investment Annual 2021

Get the data: PXStat BPA34, PXStat BPA37

Figure 2.14 shows FDI returns by immediate partner country of investment. The increase in 2015 for Swiss returns on FDI in Ireland is due to income increasing from €3 to €6 billion, while positions only increased from €10 to €12 billion.

Source publication: Foreign Direct Investment Annual 2021

Get the data: PXStat BPA34, PXStat BPA37

As shown in Figure 2.9, most of Irish FDI income outflows are accrued by the United States. Figure 2.15 illustrates the return on investment for the US. The rate of return on immediate investment surpassed the rate of return on ultimate investment for the US due to corporate restructuring and an increase in flows going through Ireland. The dip that occurs in 2015 for returns on income on an ultimate investor country basis stems from an increase in the denominator of that figure which is the US FDI positions, which experienced a large increase that year.