'Multinational companies won't have a problem investing in Cork instead of Dublin'

THE HEAD OF foreign investment at one of Ireland’s biggest law firms thinks that cities like Cork and Galway, not just Dublin, could also benefit from a Brexit.

Since the UK voted to leave the European Union, there has been speculation that it could lead to an exodus of businesses, particularly in areas such as financial services, from London.

The head of the IDA, the agency responsible for attracting foreign companies to Ireland, has said he thinks that Ireland “will be the first choice for many companies that require a base within the European Union”.

So far, much of the talk has centred around how well Dublin is prepared to cope with a sudden influx of workers from London, as it is widely expected that any business moving out of the English capital will move to the Irish one.

That has led to concerns that the capital’s creaking infrastructure and high housing costs could deter more foreign firms from investing in Ireland following the UK referendum.

However, David Carthy, the head of foreign direct investment at William Fry Ireland, thinks that regional cities such as Cork or Galway are also well positioned to pick up any investment migrating to Ireland.

Irish investment 

Speaking to Fora at a briefing held by the Irish Exporters Association this week on the impacts of Brexit, Carthy said he believes Dublin is in a good position to pick up some investment in the wake of the vote.

“I think Dublin is well placed, but you have to understand the difference in scale. Dublin could gain considerably from new investment without London losing out to any noticeable degree,” he said.

William Fry partner and head of foreign direct investment David Carthy

“If you look at the businesses that need to scale and hire hundreds of employees, (somewhere like) Luxembourg is a much smaller and more expensive place. It is not an attractive a location for mobile talent, particularly viewed from London.”

However, he added that the differences between Dublin and other Irish cities will not overly concern large multinational firms.

Regional split

“I would expect (investment) to be increasingly regionally balanced,” he said. “Pretty much all the industries that are in Dublin are also in Cork or Galway and the companies themselves are sophisticated in making their choices.

“Although Dublin has been the leading location in Ireland for financial services, nowhere in Ireland is, by global standards, too far from this hub.

“We talk about the regions, but in terms of UK geography or US geography, Ireland is  very small place. I think that it (investment) will be much more regionally balanced in future.

He added: “I think businesses would be very comfortable with that and they just need to make decisions on a case-by-case basis. You have to realise these companies make their own decisions. It’s a matter of particular cities making themselves attractive.”

When asked what cities could do to make themselves more attractive for foreign investment, Carthy said: “It depends. Some cities have great university link ups, some less so. Some cities have great transport infrastructure, other less so. There are different pros and cons in each decision.”