The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD said today (Friday) that senior decision-makers in multinational companies are considering investing and creating jobs in Ireland, but are concerned about the possible fallout of a No vote in the upcoming Stability Treaty Referendum.
The Minister was speaking from Chicago where he is starting the final day of a five-day, five-city IDA trade and investment mission, on which he is meeting 19 companies considering investing in Ireland for the first time or expanding their investments here with the creation of jobs.
The Minister confirmed that there is a strong pipeline of particular investments being considered by the multinational companies he has met, but that the prospects of delivering these projects is undermined by the companies’ concerns about the fallout of a No vote.
Over the first four days of the trip, the Minister has met a total of 15 companies in Boston, Raleigh, Atlanta, Minneapolis and Chicago, principally in the health/life sciences and technology sectors. These companies have a combined revenue of over $200billion and a total workforce worldwide of over 600,000, and include high-growth start-ups as well as multi-billion dollar corporations. The companies he has met include seven which already have operations in Ireland which they are considering expanding, as well as eight which are considering locating operations in Ireland for the first time.
Speaking in Chicago the Minister said: ‘The senior decision-makers I have met this week in major US companies are considering specific plans to invest and create jobs in Ireland, and are very impressed by what we have to offer, particularly through our tax rate, our skilled workforce and our improved competitiveness.
“We have seen in recent months the benefits of increasing stability and certainty in the Irish economy. Companies like PayPal, Sky, Apple, Mylan, Amgen, and Cisco have decided to invest in Ireland with the creation of thousands of new jobs. The message I am getting in boardrooms in the United States this week is that more and more companies are considering investing in Ireland and creating the jobs we badly need.
“However the Referendum is being discussed in these meetings, and these companies are seriously concerned about any developments which could undermine the stability of our economy or our relationship with Europe.
“These companies are looking at investing in Ireland as a means of accessing the European market, and they are concerned about the fallout of a No vote and anything that would impact on our relationship with Europe. They are worried about any developments that could undermine our funding arrangements and our economic future. Above all they are looking for certainty and a stable environment in which to invest and they are saying to me very candidly that these issues are very important for their investment decisions.
“The Stability Treaty is not the solution to all of our problems, but it is good for Ireland’s economic stability and it is good for the future of multinational investment here. My strong view – a view which is reinforced by my meetings with US companies this week – is that a Yes vote on 31st May will help encourage further investment from multinational companies, but a No vote would serve to undermine the prospects for that investment which we so badly need.”
ENDS