Manufacturing in Ireland is one of the high performing engines of the Irish economy with clusters of world class manufacturing operations in sectors such as biopharmaceuticals,  electronics, medical technology, and food production. Ireland’s level of employment in high-technology manufacturing, as a share of total employment, is now the highest in the EU, with 29% of manufacturing jobs in high technology sectors. This is four times the EU average. Overall, there are 260,000 people employed in the Irish manufacturing sector, accounting for over 12% of total employment in the economy.

Several factors have contributed to this outstanding success. These include our skilled, flexible workforce; a stable, transparent, and competitive tax regime; membership of the EU Single Market with a regulatory regime conducive to doing business globally; a stable industrial relations regime, and a strong and reliable business culture. However, manufacturing as diverse and resilient as it is, will require support from government to keep the sector competitive and thriving.