Housing costs, the planning process, and the price of gas were the biggest downsides to doing business in Ireland, according to the latest survey of multinationals by IDA Ireland.
The 2024 client survey scored 20 different factors out of ten on Ireland's competitiveness with the corporate tax regime again rating highest at 7.44.
However, housing for staff continues to be a major problem for companies doing business in Ireland, with satisfaction falling since the last survey in 2022.
Housing costs and availability both scored at 2.74 out of ten followed by the cost of gas supplies at 2.91.
Ireland's planning process - which many companies consider slow and fraught with legal risk - scored at just 3.26 out of ten in the survey.
Other factors that had a ranking of below five out of ten were apprenticeships, power supply costs, and renewable power options.
On the plus side, Ireland’s famously generous corporate tax regime and the third level education system both scored well above seven, at 7.44 and 7.38, respectively.
Companies also listed broadband availability, labour force flexibility and air services availability as strong positives of doing business here.
An overview of the survey said: "The ranking of operational factors remains largely consistent to 2022. Satisfaction remains lowest for both housing costs and availability. There have been significant improvements in the evaluation of the availability and cost of broadband."
Overall, companies were positive about Ireland with 54% saying growth prospects were "excellent" or "very good".
The survey found that nearly two-thirds were planning to increase their headcount, although the research was carried out last year and well before the economic turmoil caused by the election of Donald Trump.
Firms did say that "geopolitical instability" was becoming a key risk along with rising costs and skill availability.
The client survey also showed that 78% of the firms were looking to expand their "Irish mandate", especially in terms of research and development and innovation.
It said "skills sourcing challenges" had eased over the past couple of years with 68% saying finding the right people was a problem.
However, that figure had fallen from 76% from the previous survey that was conducted in 2022.
The primary areas of skill shortages cited by multinationals were in engineering, data science, and quality control, according to the research.
The Irish education system rated very highly for client companies with 54% saying they were satisfied with it and 2% saying they were "very satisfied".
There was a slight increase in the level of unionisation within companies but the overwhelming majority - 88% of employers - were not unionised.
An overview of the research said: "Growth outlook is positive despite challenging operating environment. Clients are focused on transformative additions to their mandates in Ireland, particularly in AI and innovation"
"Driving sustainable change through green and digital investment is a continued area of focus for clients," it added.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
