Details of grant-aid payments made by IDA Ireland to multinationals with operations in Ireland have been disclosed for the first time.

The payments, funded by taxpayers, are disclosed under European Union State Aid rules, and the disclosures so far relate mainly to 2016 and 2017, with a few in 2018.

The level of payments illustrate that hugely profitable multinationals that have been active in Ireland for decades are a perennial draw on the public purse.

The data made available by the EU may not be comprehensive: the IDA says that 237 new investments were secured by the agency during 2017. According to the IDA annual report, there were 111 greenfield projects, 76 expansion projects and 50 R&D projects.

IDA Ireland spokesman Kevin Sammon commented that the agency’s ability to offer grant assistance helps win foreign direct investment projects across Ireland.

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“Funding programmes are absolutely vital in assisting IDA Ireland in its role to promote Ireland as a place to locate and expand investments,” Sammon said. “Grants are also an essential tool in maintaining the strength of our FDI community and ensuring that companies continue to invest and keep their Irish sites at the cutting edge.

“FDI is an extremely competitive sector internationally - we are up against many other countries when we fight to win these investments. It’s important to see these grants in the context that they are matched and multiplied by the applicant company,” Sammon added.

IDA chief executive Martin Shanahan (pictured) explained that in providing grants and supports to new and existing client companies, the agency considers the size of the applicant company, the sector involved, the proposed activity to be undertaken and its location in Ireland, as well as the potential impact of this activity in terms of job creation, collaboration and investment.

“This is a sector that employs over 210,000 workers directly with many more employed indirectly as a result in our cities and towns,” said Shanahan. “This employment figure is a record high and the FDI sector as a whole has never contributed as much to the Irish economy as it is doing today."

IDA Ireland is one of many state agencies that competes for inward investment with generous grant-aid. Across the border in Northern Ireland, Invest NI also provides substantial funding to local and international businesses (see table below).