Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 30 Jan 2001

Vol. 529 No. 1

Written Answers. - Foreign Companies.

Jim Higgins

Question:

145 Mr. Higgins (Mayo) asked the Taoiseach the number of foreign owned manufacturing companies operating in Ireland; the nationality of each company; the number employed by each company; and the ratio of foreign owned manufacturing employment to the country's total manufacturing employment level. [1449/01]

The Taoiseach

The 1988 census of industrial production, which covers enterprises with three or more persons engaged, shows that there were 653 foreign owned manufacturing enterprises operating in Ireland.

The breakdown by nationality of ownership

United States of America	270
Germany	95
United Kingdom	94
Other EU countries	113
Other non-EU countries	81
Total	653

The number of persons engaged in those foreign owned enterprises was 47.7% of the total employment in all manufacturing enterprises covered by the census. For reasons of confidentiality, data on individual companies cannot be disclosed.