“Our countries share expertise and commercial synergies across Technology and AI and Digital, Biotech and Medtech, Advanced Engineering, Fintech and the Green Economy. Ireland can become a gateway for Indian companies to access the EU market of 500 million customers and a talent pool of c222m. As more and more people from India come to live and work in Ireland, there is an increasing affinity. We should build on that,” Burke said.
Mary Buckley, Executive Director, has said that IDA Ireland (national investment development agency for overseas investment, opened its office in India in 2008 in Mumbai) focusing primarily on the IT Services sector. In 2011, the team increased and extended their focus to more IDA sectors and is active in the Indian cities of Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad.
Ireland continues to offer real opportunity for Indian companies seeking a stable, secure, pro-business environment with a talented workforce and culture of innovation and entrepreneurship. As a committed member of the EU, Ireland is also a proven base from which to grow operational presence in European markets.
The opportunities for Indian companies to invest in Ireland are significant, with strong potential in Ireland for companies from across high value growth sectors including Technology and AI and Digital, Biotech and Medtech, Advanced Engineering, FinTech and Green Economy.
There are 30 IDA client companies from India employing over 5,000 people in Ireland including several with large regional footprints in Ireland.Companies from India that have invested in Ireland are largely concentrated in Software and IT Services, Life Sciences and Manufacturing sectors and we are working with them to develop on their sustainability and digitalisation agendas.The top 5 Indian IT service companies which are TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Tech Mahindra & HCL have operations in Ireland. These companies have added value added activities such as Centres of Excellence or R&D centres while continuing to operate delivery centres. Indian Life Sciences companies in Ireland include Wockhardt and Unichem.
Mid-sized companies such as NIIT, BrowserStack, SMT, Deepak Fasteners amongst others also have a presence in Ireland. JLR has a large software engineering centre in Ireland in.
There are many reasons why Indian companies should consider Ireland as a potential partner in Business, with many of the world’s leading companies having chosen Ireland as a location to access the European market, according to Buckley.
Ireland has many attributes that can serve as a gateway for Indian businesses in Europe and vice versa. Ireland as the EU’s only English-speaking country and a fully committed member of the EU and Eurozone, with a common law legal system offers companies a stable, competitive, secure and pro-business environment, all important considerations for investors looking to access the European market.
“In terms of the workforce, Ireland has the youngest population in Europe and the quality of our education system ensures a plentiful supply of talent. Ireland has the highest number of highly qualified graduates linked to STEM- based subjects and technology -based subjects in Europe, with excellent technical language and customer service skills. A lot of Europeans want to live and work in Ireland, 19% of our workforce is international. Ireland has a very collaborative ecosystem between academia and industry with many of our client companies involved in informing curricula in our universities. This is very valuable for companies in terms of developing the skills and talent they require. Ireland is a proven innovation and R&D hub. The Irish Government has taken a research driven approach towards developing talent in emerging technology areas that align with sectors which are economically important to Ireland such as AI, medtech, manufacturing, green energy, financial services, pharma and big tech,” Buckley noted.
Ireland has become a popular destination for Indian students seeking higher education, particularly post-graduate, doctoral and post-doctoral students in the areas of engineering, technology, medicine, and management. There are about 8,500 Indian students in Irish higher educational institutions. The Trinity College and Thapar University, Patiala have an MOU for joint degree programmes in five engineering and science disciplines.
According to Ireland’s latest census report, approximately 2% of the 5.1m population is Indian born. The Indian Community is valued here and integrated well in Irish society.
Some major Irish Government decisions in the recent past have had positive implications for Indian community, for example the non-requirement of obtaining additional work permit for spouses and partners of Critical Skill Employment Permit holders which is likely to attract more Indian high- skilled workers to Ireland, particularly in high-tech, medical and management sectors and the Non-requirement of obtaining re-entry visa for GNIB card holders, according to Buckley.
