Mayo, Wicklow and Leitrim recorded only one IDA Ireland-backed site visit by potential foreign direct investors in 2025, figures released by the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke, show.
Overall, IDA‑facilitated visits rose by 10 per cent last year, increasing from 466 in 2024 to 514.
Dublin continued to dominate activity, accounting for 247 visits – 48 per cent of the national total, a slight rise on its 47.4 per cent share the previous year. Cork remained the second‑most visited county, attracting 60 visits (11.7 per cent), followed by Galway with 40 (8 per cent) and Limerick with 33 (6 per cent).
In the written Dáil reply, the Minister told Sinn Féin TD David Cullinane that his own Waterford area was ranked fifth, accounting for 20 visits or 4 per cent, followed by Clare and Westmeath each on 19 or 3.7 per cent.
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The figures for the last 10 years of IDA-facilitated foreign direct investment (FDI) site visits show that the 514 total for 2025 was the first year this decade that the IDA has recorded in excess of 500 site visits by overseas investors.
The last year that the IDA recorded more visits was in 2019 when 700 visits were made.
Other counties to record five or fewer IDA-backed site visits in 2025 are Kildare, Offaly (all five), Donegal (four), Longford, Roscommon, Kerry, Tipperary (all three) and Monaghan, Meath and Cavan (all two).
In his reply, the Minister cautioned that it should be noted that potential clients may visit more than one county and may return to a location more than once, and the figures represent individual visits and therefore may not be indicative of the number of companies that have visited.
Burke said it should also be noted that site visits may not necessarily be a true measure of the overall level of FDI activity in a region or county and are only one measure of a company’s interest in a particular location, and naturally, year-on-year, the number of visits to any location will vary.
He said: “I must also stress that, ultimately, individual investors decide which counties to visit, and where to locate their investments.”
