Ireland knows how to attract multinationals. Seventy-five years of IDA Ireland, a low corporate tax rate, a well-educated workforce and a seat at the EU table have made this country one of the world's most successful destinations for foreign direct investment. Over 1,800 global companies operate here. The FDI sector accounts for 11% of total national employment and generates over €38 billion in annual expenditure in the Irish economy.
But there is a bigger prize still to be won.
Ireland has quietly been building its own. Scaling indigenous Irish businesses from promising startups into global multinationals is a story that is already being written — in companies like Stripe, Intercom, Workhuman and Alison. But according to a significant new report from PwC Ireland published this week, the pace needs to accelerate, the capital needs to deepen, and the ambition needs to grow.
What PwC Found
The report is direct. Ireland is in a global race to scale its indigenous enterprises. The opportunity is clear. The platform is strong. And the time to push harder is now.
PwC is calling for urgent and coordinated national action on capital, capability and culture to scale Ireland's indigenous firms into global multinationals — with the ambition of ensuring the next generation of Irish multinationals are built right here.
That is a striking statement from one of Ireland's most influential professional services firms. It is also, for anyone watching the Irish business landscape closely, a timely one.
According to PwC's 2026 Irish CEO Survey, 60% of Irish business leaders report difficulties in accessing the key skills needed to grow their businesses. Talent — the very thing Ireland has built its FDI reputation on — is now becoming a constraint for indigenous companies trying to scale alongside the multinationals.
The Capital Gap
Skills are one part of the challenge. Capital is another. Irish scaling companies have historically struggled to access the growth funding needed to compete internationally at the highest level. Venture capital markets in Ireland, while significantly improved, remain modest compared to the UK, Germany or the Nordics. The domestic institutional investor base has been slower to back indigenous growth companies at the scale required.
The result is a pattern that has repeated itself too often: an Irish company builds something genuinely world-class, reaches a certain size, and then either sells to a foreign acquirer or relocates its headquarters abroad to access deeper capital markets. The value — and the jobs — leave. PwC's report argues it doesn't have to be that way.
PwC's prescription covers three areas: capital access, capability development, and a fundamental shift in ambition culture. Ireland, the report argues, needs to back its own with the same focus and institutional commitment it brings to attracting everyone else's.
Why This Matters Right Now
The timing of this report matters. Ireland's economy is performing well by headline measures. Employment stands at a record 2.8 million, unemployment is at 4.6%, and modified domestic demand grew 3.8% in 2025. GDP growth is forecast at 2.3% for 2026. The foundations are genuinely strong.
But beneath those headline numbers, building a stronger base of large, internationally competitive Irish-owned businesses is both an economic opportunity and a strategic priority. Ireland's prosperity, while robust, is disproportionately weighted toward foreign-owned companies. A deeper indigenous base makes the whole economy more resilient — and more Irish.
What Business Owners Should Take From This
For the thousands of Irish business owners running solid, growing companies and wondering whether there is a real pathway to the next level — this report is both a validation and a call to action.
The validation: the structural barriers are real. Accessing capital, talent and strategic support is genuinely harder for an indigenous Irish company than it should be. These are systemic issues, not individual failings.
The call to action: ambition culture matters too. PwC is right to name it. Ireland has produced exceptional entrepreneurs. But culturally, the exit — selling to a larger foreign player — has often been treated as the natural endpoint. Building something that stays Irish, stays headquartered here, and competes globally on its own terms is a harder and less celebrated path. That needs to change.
The Bottom Line
Ireland is one of the most successful small open economies on the planet. Its FDI track record is the envy of comparable nations. The indigenous success stories are real and growing. Now, according to PwC, is the moment to back them harder — with deeper capital, sharper capability, and the national ambition to match what Irish entrepreneurs are already proving is possible.
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