The American Chamber of Commerce Ireland (AmCham) today published AmCham FDI Insights “The Bigger Picture”, a report that analyses trends from across its quarterly FDI Insights surveys from Q1 2023 to Q1 2026.
Drawing on the views of senior leaders from AmCham member companies , this report highlights how the priorities and concerns of multinational employers have evolved over the past three years, with competitiveness, talent and specialist skills emerging as increasingly important factors in Ireland's attractiveness for investment and growth.
The Changing Competitiveness Landscape
The percentage of AmCham members who said cost competitiveness is the no. 1 challenge for Ireland to overcome for their company to expand here increased from 0 percent in Q1 2023 to 27 percent in Q1 2026, while those who indicated talent attraction rose from three percent in Q1 2023 to 10 percent in Q1 2026.
When asked what they consider to be the greatest risk to continued FDI in Ireland over the next five years, respondents that said the availability of skilled talent rose from 5 percent in Q2 2025 to 6 percent in Q3 2025, and to 24 percent in Q1 2026.
Housing remains an important issue, holding steady at 31 percent in Q2 2025 and Q3 2025 and decreasing to 16 percent in Q1 2026. This decrease indicates that business leaders are increasingly focused on the availability of skilled talent, and competitiveness factors including global tax policy, rising labour costs and the impacts of geopolitical instability when making investment and expansion decisions.
Preparing Ireland’s Future Talent Pool
When asked if their organisation currently offers apprenticeships in Ireland, the percentage of members who said yes increased from 11 percent in Q2 2023 to 45 percent in Q2 2024, with those who responded no falling from 88 percent to 55 percent.
This reflects a similar trend that emerged in the report, when asked how Ireland’s education system needs to change, the percentage of respondents that indicated an increased focus on apprenticeships / inhouse training rose from 18 percent in Q2 2023 to 39 percent in Q1 2024. Similarly, respondents that signalled for increased funding supports for RD&I rose to 8 percent over the same period.
Ireland’s highly skilled and talented workforce is central to its value proposition. Equipping the Irish workforce with the skills to navigate the changing labour market is not only necessary for keeping Ireland a key destination for FDI, but for ensuring the development and growth of our future talent pipeline, particularly in an increasingly digitised and competitive international market.
Talent, Skills and Workforce Growth.
The percentage of respondents who flagged if their organisation was experiencing a skills gap in Ireland remained relatively stable through Q1 2023 to Q1 2026, starting at 69 percent and falling to 56 percent. While some skills gaps have remained consistent, there has been increases in areas including Cyber.
The percentage of respondents who flagged that they were experiencing a skills gap in Machine Learning and A.I. doubled from 16 percent in Q1 2023 to 32 percent in Q1 2026. Similarly, those that highlighted that they were experiencing a skills gap in Digital and Data remained steady over the same period, falling from 24 percent in Q1 2023 and 2024 to 23 percent in 2025. Engineering and Cyber also remain amongst the largest skills gaps highlighted by respondents, with Cyber rising from eight percent in Q1 2023 to 12 percent in Q1 2025, and Engineering falling from 31 percent in Q1 2023 to 21 percent in Q1 2025.
The percentage of respondents who identified that they were experiencing difficulties filling vacancies in their Irish operations fell from 69 percent in Q3 2024 to 50 percent in the same quarter in 2025. When asked about the most significant barrier their organisation experiences when filling vacancies, those who said housing increased from 20 percent in Q3 2024 to 36 percent in Q3 2025. During the same period, respondents that signalled a shortage of specialist skills remained steady, falling just 2 percent from 46 percent in 2024 to 44 percent in 2025.
As of 2025, US multinationals employ 245,000 people in Ireland, a figure that rose from 211,000 in 2024. Ensuring Ireland remains competitive and a key destination for FDI moving forward, understanding the challenges the business communities face when scaling in Ireland is essential. From this report, we can better understand the salience of certain issues in the long-term, particularly in areas like competitiveness, skills, education and housing. Addressing competitiveness will be crucial for sustaining inward investment and long-term economic growth into the future.
Read the full AmCham FDI Insights "The Bigger Picture" Trends Report here
