The President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland, Gerard Kilcommins has called on Ireland to “build on its achievements of the past” and continue strong support for foreign direct investment (FDI ) in the west and nationwide, at an event to mark the organisation’s 50th Anniversary which took place in Galway last week.
Speaking at a gala dinner attended by over 60 representatives of the US multinational community in the west region and their guests, Mr Kilcommins said, “US companies directly employ over 100,000 people nationwide and in the west there are 70 companies responsible for 12,000 jobs and many thousands more indirect jobs. This strong base of 600 US multinationals here contribute to the economic success at both national and regional level. Here in the west we have a strong track record in the ICT, Engineering and the Life Sciences sectors. These are now global companies that serve the world from their bases in the west of Ireland.”
“US companies play a vital role to Ireland’s economy,” Mr Kilcommins explained, “they spend in excess of 16 billion euro annually on payroll and services and contribute over 3 billion euro in corporation tax. In 2011 over 11,000 jobs were announced by IDA Ireland and three quarters of these were by US companies.”
“The legacy of successful business operations established by US companies here over the past five decades has helped secure additional investment in Ireland. US companies now have $165 billion invested in Ireland, and this is more than the combined total in Brazil, Russia, India and China. We need to create a climate which secures this existing investment and allows us to expand that investment and attract new FDI to Ireland. In creating that environment, it is clear that we must actively manage our own road to recovery.”
“The west of the country has played a central role in Ireland’s FDI success,” according to Mr Kilcommins, who pointed out that “when Digital Equipment Corporation first opened its doors in Mervue in 1971 it was the first multinational company in the country to establish a computer manufacturing and export operation. This year, US companies will continue to lead Ireland’s export economy in what is expected to be a record year. Total exports are to exceed €170 billion for the first time, with US companies accounting for almost €100 billion of this vibrant element of Ireland’s economy.”
Of the future Mr Kilcommins said the Chamber “is adopting the voice of optimism. Because we firmly believe that while the problems in our public finances and the banking sector cannot be downplayed, we must recognise that that we are now laying the foundations for a more positive future.”
“Global FDI is predicted to grow by up to 20 per cent this year” stated Kilcommins, “and Ireland is well positioned to benefit from this. The latest IBM Global Trends Report has shown that Ireland is the number one location worldwide for winning FDI jobs, on a per capita basis.”
“Speaking for the west of Ireland this optimism is well founded,” according to Mr Kilcommins, who is also the VP Global Vascular Operations and Site General Manager for Medtronic in Galway which employs 2,000 people today. “The past 12 months have seen 17 major announcements in the western region, which has led to the creation of over 1,300 direct jobs.”
The American Chamber’s 50th Anniversary Gala Dinner in the West Region was sponsored by Ulster Bank. Companies participating the American Chamber’s Western Region include:
Accellent, Allergan Pharmaceuticals Ireland, Atlantic Industries (Ballina Beverages ) Attachmate, Avaya (Ireland ) Ltd, Baxter Healthcare - Ireland Manufacturing, Baxter Healthcare S.A., Beckman Coulter Ireland Inc, Bioniche Pharma Group, BioWare Ireland Ltd, Boston Scientific Ireland (Galway ), Covidien, DeCare International, Electronic Concepts Europe Ltd, Fidelity Investments (Galway ), Georgia Tech Ireland, Glenlo Abbey Hotel, Hewlett-Packard Galway Ltd, IBM (Galway ), Ingersoll Rand Thermo King, Innocoll Technologies Ltd, Lionbridge Technologies, Global Sourcing and Search Solutions, Medtronic Vascular Galway Ltd, Merit Medical Ireland Ltd, Merrill Brink International, National University of Ireland Galway, Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa (Galway ), SAP (SSC ) Ireland Ltd, Transitions Optical Ltd, Trend Technologies Mullingar Ltd, Valois Ireland Ltd
