Housing availability “not a major constraint” for foreign investors, says IDA Ireland boss

Martin Shanahan, CEO of IDA Ireland, said that the availability of housing is not a major barrier to foreign companies deciding to invest in Ireland.

Speaking at a Shannon Chamber of Commerce luncheon at Dromoland Castle, answering a question about the availability of housing that limits companies’ decisions to invest in Ireland, Mr Shanahan said: “It’s definitely a constraint – no question.”

“Investors are very aware of the housing market in Ireland, both in urban and non-urban locations.”

“I don’t think that’s a big limitation anymore as investors can also see the data and look at the plans that the government has in mind in terms of increasing housing supply.”

Mr Shanahan said that infrastructure, including the availability of energy, remains critical to attracting investment, “and from my perspective, the issues that are likely to present us with the most challenges relate to infrastructure”.

He said that instead of Ireland losing foreign direct investment (FDI), it has seen an increase in FDI since the government’s decision to enter the OECD tax framework.

The IDA boss said the framework “has given us a new level of stability” and a new rate of 15 percent for companies with revenues of more than 750 million euros.

“I said at the time I didn’t think it would have any impact on investment flow and I can absolutely tell you at this point it had no impact at all and we’ve actually seen a reversal – that we’ve seen in the last few.” months and last year saw an increase in investment.”

Mr Shanahan said the FDI outlook was “reasonable” and that last year’s strong inflow of FDI has continued this year.

“I expect to report fairly positive numbers for the first half of the year and the outlook for the second half also looks pretty positive,” he said in reference to the forthcoming release of IDA’s mid-year results.

Mr Shanahan said FDI has continued to perform exceptionally well in this economy, noting that “FDI has not missed a beat during the pandemic”.

“We ranked seventh in Europe for announced projects last year and that’s an amazing achievement for a country our size.”

Mr Shanahan said the 1,700 FDI companies here “represent a key national asset”.

Speaking of changing business operating models due to Covid-19, he said this will present opportunities for non-urban areas where regional sites could promote a very positive work-life balance.

However, he said: “However, the future of the city is not over just to be clear that there will still be urban locations that will prove very attractive and that office buildings will be built for the sake of driving culture, driver training and the Employee training will be required. ”

Talent availability is still the number one consideration for companies deciding to invest here.

He said it was “one of the reasons we’re attracting investment, because Ireland looks a little better than other countries, because we’re so open and welcoming and frankly it’s easier to get work permits and visas for Ireland than for other countries.” .