Manufacturing & Supply Chain

Enterprise Ireland has announced that its clients have achieved record exports of €36.75 billion in 2024, up 7% on 2023, with all territories and major sectors recording increases, surpassing the 2022–2024 strategy target of €30 billion exports. Exports to Europe, grew by 8% to €10.63 billion representing 29% of total exports. This is the first time that exports to this region have surpassed the UK, making Europe now the largest export territory for Enterprise Ireland’s client base.

• Within Europe, the Eurozone, which represents 26% of total exports, continued to perform. Exports increased by 9.6% to €9.42bn in 2024 with growth across the majority of countries, including Germany, the Netherlands and France.
• The UK, now the second largest export territory for clients achieved €10.52bn exports in 2024, up 4% on 2023 and surpassing the €10bn mark for the first time.
• North America also delivered growth, with exports of €7.30bn in 2024, up 8% on 2023. USA, the main export market had exports of €6.66bn, up 8% on 2023.

All sectors showed strong export growth. The Food and Sustainability sector reached €16.25bn, up 5% on 2023. Non-food exports surpassed this, achieving €20.5bn, up 8%, with the Industrial and Lifesciences sector recording €11.46bn exports, up 9%. Of this, High Tech Construction exports increased by 20% to €4.66bn.

The Technology and Services sector also grew, with exports of €9.05bn achieved in 2024, up 7% on 2023. Of this, Digital Tech exports reached €3.16bn in 2024, up 9% on 2023. Fintech, Financial & Business Services also saw an increase, up 5% to €2.90bn in 2024. 

Enterprise Ireland client companies spent €42.65bn in the Irish economy in 2024, including €13bn on payroll. 

Kevin Sherry, Interim CEO of Enterprise Ireland, said: “Despite ongoing challenges in recent years, such as economic headwinds and rising costs our client companies continue to show their agility and resilience as they scale internationally, achieving yet another year of record export growth with €36.75 billion in exports in 2024. This robust performance by clients reflects a strong and resilient exporting base which fuels our economy, delivering sustainable prosperity nationwide.”

“Our results show that for the first time Europe has surpassed the UK as the number one export territory. This demonstrates that while our client base continues to grow exports in the UK, there is less reliance and dependency on this one market with many clients broadening their base and winning business in other markets. Amid future geopolitical instability, Irish businesses proven ability to diversify across markets will stand to them when facing challenging and uncertain times. Enterprise Ireland remains committed to supporting companies as they explore potential mitigation and market diversifications strategies to navigate the challenges of export tariffs.”