Economy of Dublin
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Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
is the largest city and capital of
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, and is the country's economic hub. As well as being the location of the
national parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
and most of the civil service, Dublin is also the focal point of
media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...
in the country. Much of Ireland's transportation network radiates from the city, and
Dublin Port Dublin Port ( ga, Calafort Átha Cliath) is the seaport of Dublin, Ireland, of both historical and contemporary economic importance. Approximatively two-thirds of Ireland's port traffic travels via the port, which is by far the busiest on the ...
is responsible for a large proportion of Ireland's import and export trade. Dublin is home to a number of
multinational corporations A multinational company (MNC), also referred to as a multinational enterprise (MNE), a transnational enterprise (TNE), a transnational corporation (TNC), an international corporation or a stateless corporation with subtle but contrasting senses, i ...
, including in "hi tech" sectors such as
information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of Data (computing), data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information te ...
, digital media, financial services and the
pharmaceutical industry The pharmaceutical industry discovers, develops, produces, and markets drugs or pharmaceutical drugs for use as medications to be administered to patients (or self-administered), with the aim to cure them, vaccinate them, or alleviate symptoms. ...
. Dublin is also the location of the headquarters of several large Irish public companies including Bank of Ireland,
DCC plc DCC plc is an Irish international sales, marketing and support services group. DCC is organised and managed in four separate divisions (DCC LPG, DCC Retail & Oil, DCC Technology and DCC Healthcare), each focused on specific market sectors. Its s ...
, AIB Group,
Ardagh Group Ardagh Group is a Luxembourg-based producer of glass and metal products that has "grown in the past two decades into one of the world’s largest metal and glass packaging companies". As of 2012, the company operated 89 facilities in 22 countrie ...
,
CRH plc CRH may refer to: * Calibre radius head, a traditional British ordnance term for a concept in ballistic projectile design * Celtic Resources Holdings, an Irish mining company * China Railway High-speed, a high-speed railway service operated by Ch ...
, Ryanair,
Smurfit Kappa The Smurfit Kappa Group plc is Europe's leading corrugated packaging company and one of the leading paper-based packaging companies in the world. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. History The co ...
and
Flutter Entertainment Flutter Entertainment plc (formerly Paddy Power Betfair plc) is an Irish gambling holding company created by the merger of Paddy Power and Betfair, and the later acquisition of The Stars Group. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is ...
(formerly Paddy Power Betfair). Many of Ireland's public sector and state owned employers are based in Dublin including utility companies such as
ESB Group The Electricity Supply Board (ESB; ga, Bord Soláthair an Leictreachais) is a state owned (95%; the rest are owned by employees) electricity company operating in the Republic of Ireland. While historically a monopoly, the ESB now operates as a ...
, educational institutions such as
Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...
,
University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...
,
Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) ( ga, Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a university based on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin'' in 1975, it enrolled its ...
and
Technological University Dublin Technological University Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Teicneolaíochta Bhaile Átha Cliath) or TU Dublin is Ireland's first technological university, established on 1 January 2019, and with a history stretching back to 1887 through the amalgamated Du ...
and most of Ireland's higher courts, RTÉ (Irelands national public service broadcaster), and several
teaching hospitals A teaching hospital is a hospital or medical centre that provides medical education and training to future and current health professionals. Teaching hospitals are almost always affiliated with one or more universities and are often co-locate ...
. Other employers service the tourism and retail markets.


Analysis


Rankings

In 2017 Dublin ranked 1st in Ireland by
disposable income Disposable income is total personal income minus current income taxes. In national accounts definitions, personal income minus personal current taxes equals disposable personal income. Subtracting personal outlays (which includes the major ...
per person, at 110% of the State average. In 2008, it was the city with the 2nd highest wages in the world, dropping to 10th place in 2009, and, according to a
Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as simply Brookings, is an American research group founded in 1916. Located on Think Tank Row in Washington, D.C., the organization conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in e ...
report in 2012, had the 14th highest income per capita in the world at $55,578 (€42,960). As of 2011, ''Mercer's 2011 Worldwide Cost of Living Survey'' listed Dublin as the 13th most expensive city in the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
(down from 10th in 2010), and the 58th most expensive place to live in the world (down from 42nd in 2010). Similar surveys of ex-pats in 2015 and 2017 ranked the city as the 49th and 47th most expensive city respectively.


GDP

According to Eurostat 2012 figures, the GDP of the
Dublin Metropolitan Area The Greater Dublin Area (GDA; Irish: ''Mórcheantar Bhaile Átha Cliath''), or simply Greater Dublin, is an informal term that is taken to include the city of Dublin and its hinterland, with varying definitions as to its extent. As of 2022, its e ...
(including counties Meath,
Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional ce ...
and
Wicklow Wicklow ( ; ga, Cill Mhantáin , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; non, Víkingaló) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland. It is located south of Dublin on the east coast of the island. According to the 2016 census, it has a ...
) was approximately €83.bn, representing 47% of Irish GDP, and ranking 20th among European metropolitan areas by Gross metropolitan product.
County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...
alone had a GDP of €73 billion and a GDP per capita of €57,200. According to 2014 CSO figures, County Dublin contributed €87 billion to national GDP with a GDP per capita of €68,208 and the
Greater Dublin area The Greater Dublin Area (GDA; Irish: ''Mórcheantar Bhaile Átha Cliath''), or simply Greater Dublin, is an informal term that is taken to include the city of Dublin and its hinterland, with varying definitions as to its extent. As of 2022, its ...
contributing €103 billion and a GDP per capita of €56,971.


Other indicators

Dublin was at the centre of Ireland's rapid economic growth from 1995 to 2007 when both the standards and the cost of living in the city rose dramatically. By 2018, the
Economic and Social Research Institute The Economic and Social Research Institute is an Irish research institute founded in 1960 to provide evidence-based research used to inform public policy debate and decision-making. The research of the institute focuses on the areas of sustaina ...
reported that the concentration of population and economic activity in Dublin (accounting for approximately 50% of all economic activity in the country) was "unsustainable". The
Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
also queried whether the lack of available rental accommodation in the capital would impact Dublin's economic growth.


Government

Dublin is the capital of Ireland, and many of the jobs in the
Irish Civil Service The Civil Service ( ga, An Státseirbhís) of Ireland is the collective term for the permanent staff of the departments of state and certain state agencies who advise and work for the Government of Ireland. It consists of two broad components, ...
are based in the central D01 and D02 postal districts. The former
County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...
has been divided into four council areas:
Dublin City Council Dublin City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Dublin in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the council was ...
, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, South Dublin and Fingal since 1994.


Transport


Canals and ports

Ireland's two longest canals, the Royal Canal and the Grand Canal, meet in Dublin Bay. The Irish railway system radiates from Dublin run by
Irish Rail Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
. Similarly, a number of routes in the Irish road system spread outwards from Dublin.
Dublin Port Dublin Port ( ga, Calafort Átha Cliath) is the seaport of Dublin, Ireland, of both historical and contemporary economic importance. Approximatively two-thirds of Ireland's port traffic travels via the port, which is by far the busiest on the ...
is Ireland's largest port facility. The port of
Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built following the 1816 legislation that allowed the building of a major port to serve Dubli ...
is also located within the county.


Dublin Airport

Dublin Airport Dublin Airport (Irish: ''Aerfort Bhaile Átha Cliath'') is an international airport serving Dublin, Ireland. It is operated by DAA (formerly Dublin Airport Authority). The airport is located in Collinstown, north of Dublin, and south of ...
is the biggest and busiest in Ireland, with two terminals, handling almost 33 million passengers annually (as of 2019). The Irish airlines
Aer Lingus Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish , meaning "air fleet" compare Welsh 'llynges awyr') is the flag carrier of Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 2015 and it is now a wholly owned subsidiary ...
,
CityJet CityJet is an Irish regional airline with headquarters in Swords, Dublin. It was founded in 1992 and has gone through a series of corporate structures. Air France sold CityJet to ''Intro Aviation'' in May 2014; in March 2016 the airline was b ...
and Ryanair have their own head offices in Dublin.


Rail

Heuston and Connolly stations are the two main railway stations in Dublin. Operated by Iarnród Éireann, the
Dublin Suburban Rail The Dublin Suburban Rail ( ga, Iarnród Bruachbhailteach Baile Átha Cliath) network, branded as DART/ Commuter, is a railway network that serves the city of Dublin, Ireland, most of the Greater Dublin Area and outlying towns. The system is m ...
network consists of five railway lines serving the Greater Dublin Area and commuter towns such as Drogheda and
Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...
in County Louth. One of these lines is the electrified
Dublin Area Rapid Transit The Dublin Area Rapid Transit system (stylised as DART) is an electrified commuter rail railway network serving the coastline and city of Dublin, Ireland. The service makes up the core of Dublin's Dublin Suburban Rail, suburban railway network, ...
(DART) line, which runs primarily along the coast from
Malahide Malahide ( ; ) is an affluent coastal settlement in Fingal, County Dublin, Ireland, situated north of Dublin city. It has a village centre surrounded by suburban housing estates, with a population of over 17,000. Malahide Castle dates from th ...
and
Howth Howth ( ; ; non, Hǫfuð) is an affluent peninsular village and outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland. The district as a whole occupies the greater part of the peninsula of Howth Head, which forms the northern boundary of Dublin Bay, and includes ...
southwards as far as
Greystones Greystones () is a coastal town and seaside resort in County Wicklow, Ireland. It lies on Ireland's east coast, south of Bray and south of Dublin city centre and has a population of 18,140 (2016). The town is bordered by the Irish Sea to ...
.
Commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Downtown, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter r ...
operates on the other four lines using Irish Rail diesel multiple units. In 2016, passengers journeys for DART and Dublin Suburban lines were nearly 19 million and 11.9 million, respectively (around 64% of all Irish Rail passengers). The
Luas Luas (pronounced ; Irish for "speed") is a tram/ light rail system in Dublin, Ireland. There are two main lines: the Green Line, which began operating on 30 June 2004, and the Red Line which opened on 26 September 2004. Since then, both li ...
is an electrified light rail system which has been operating since 2004 and carried over 34 million passengers annually (as of 2016). The network consists of two tram lines; the Red Line links the Docklands and city centre with the south-western suburbs, while the Green Line connects the city centre with suburbs to the south of the city.


Economic sectors

As of mid-2017, approximately 874,400 people were employed in the
Greater Dublin Area The Greater Dublin Area (GDA; Irish: ''Mórcheantar Bhaile Átha Cliath''), or simply Greater Dublin, is an informal term that is taken to include the city of Dublin and its hinterland, with varying definitions as to its extent. As of 2022, its ...
(which includes counties Meath, Kildare and Wicklow). Around 60% of people who are employed in Ireland's financial, Information and Communications Technology (ICT), and professional services sectors are located in this area.


Media

Dublin is home to a number of national newspapers, radio stations, television stations and telephone companies. RTÉ is Ireland's national state broadcaster, and is based in Donnybrook.
Virgin Media One Virgin Media One, also called Virgin One, is an Irish free-to-air television channel owned by Virgin Media Ireland (part of Liberty Global), operated through its subsidiary Virgin Media Television. The channel was known until 30 August 20 ...
, MTV Ireland and Sky News are also based in the city. The headquarters of An Post and telecommunications companies such as
Eir In Norse mythology, Eir (Old Norse: , "protection, help, mercy"Orchard (1997:36).) is a goddess or valkyrie associated with medical skill. Eir is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources; th ...
, as well as mobile operators
Meteor A meteoroid () is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space. Meteoroids are defined as objects significantly smaller than asteroids, ranging in size from grains to objects up to a meter wide. Objects smaller than this are classified as mi ...
,
Vodafone Vodafone Group plc () is a British multinational telecommunications company. Its registered office and global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It predominantly operates services in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania. , Vod ...
and 3 are all located in the Dublin area. Dublin is also the headquarters of national newspapers such as ''
The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
'', '' Irish Independent'' and '' The Herald''.


Food and drink

One of Ireland's most widely known alcoholic drinks, Guinness, has been brewed at the St. James's Gate Brewery since 1759. Dublin also profited from the role of the beef industry.


Information and communications technology

A number of IT companies are located in the city, including in the south inner area of
Dublin 2 Dublin 2, also rendered as D2 and D02, is a historic postal district on the southside of Dublin, Ireland. In the 1960s, this central district became a focus for office development. More recently, it became a focus for urban residential developme ...
, and the adjacent counties. Among these are
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
,
eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became ...
, Dell,
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...
,
Zynga Zynga Inc. () is an American developer running social video game services. It was founded in April 2007, with headquarters in San Mateo, California. The company primarily focuses on mobile and social networking platforms. Zynga states its missio ...
,
Dropbox Dropbox is a file hosting service operated by the American company Dropbox, Inc., headquartered in San Francisco, California, U.S. that offers cloud storage, file synchronization, personal cloud, and client software. Dropbox was founded in 2007 ...
,
LinkedIn LinkedIn () is an American business and employment-oriented online service that operates via websites and mobile apps. Launched on May 5, 2003, the platform is primarily used for professional networking and career development, and allows job se ...
,
Indeed Indeed is an American worldwide employment website for job listings launched in November 2004. It is an independent subsidiary of multinational holding Recruit Co. Ltd. It is co-headquartered in Austin, Texas, and Stamford, Connecticut, with ...
,
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
,
Google Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
, EMC,
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...
, Oracle,
PayPal PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American multinational financial technology company operating an online payments system in the majority of countries that support online money transfers, and serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper ...
,
SAP Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separ ...
, Symantec, and
Yahoo! Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds managed by Apollo Global Manage ...
. A number of these organisations have premises in the Silicon Docks area of the city. The area surrounding Ireland's capital city has the largest concentration of large-scale data centre operations in the country, including global operations run by Google, Microsoft and Amazon. Companies involved in the cloud computing sector include Citrix, EMC2, Dropbox, Salesforce and
Zendesk Zendesk is an American company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It provides software-as-a-service products related to customer support, sales, and other customer communications. The company was founded in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2007. ...
.


Financial

In 2017 and 2018 respectively, Dublin was ranked 5th in Europe and 31st globally in the
Global Financial Centres Index The Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) is a ranking of the competitiveness of financial centres based on over 29,000 financial centre assessments from an online questionnaire together with over 100 indices from organisations such as the World ...
(GFCI). Many of the jobs in Dublin's financial services sector are based at the
International Financial Services Centre The International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) is an area of central Dublin and part of the CBD established in the 1980s as an urban regeneration area and special economic zone (SEZ) on the derelict state-owned former port authority lan ...
in the
Dublin Docklands Dublin Docklands ( ga, Ceantar Dugaí Átha Cliath) is an area of the city of Dublin, Ireland, on both sides of the River Liffey, roughly from Talbot Memorial Bridge eastwards to the 3Arena. It mainly falls within the city's D01 and D02 ...
area. Also located in Dublin is the Irish Stock Exchange (ISEQ).


Retail

Ireland's largest retail and shopping centres are located in the Dublin area, including
Dundrum Town Centre Dundrum Town Centre is a shopping centre located in Dundrum, Dublin, Ireland. It is Ireland's largest shopping centre with over 169 tenants, almost of floor space, and over 3,400 car parking spaces. It is located just south of the village ce ...
(140,000 square metres, 160 stores) and
Blanchardstown Centre The Blanchardstown Centre is one of Ireland's largest shopping centres, located in Blanchardstown, Dublin, Ireland. It opened in October 1996 and was extended in 2004 to create extra retail space. It lies in the administration of Fingal County ...
(120,000 square metres, 180 stores). Within the city centre, the "prime retail streets" include Henry Street and
Grafton Street Grafton Street () is one of the two principal shopping streets in Dublin city centre (the other being Henry Street). It runs from St Stephen's Green in the south (at the highest point of the street) to College Green in the north (the lowes ...
. A 2013 report, for
Ibec Ibec is an Irish business representative lobbying organisation and human resources services provider According to the Standards in Public Office Commission register it is the organisation that is doing "the most lobbying" in Ireland. Ibec is ...
and Retail Ireland, indicated that Dublin was the "main national hub of retail activity", accounting for 25% of the country's retail entities, and approximately 50% of national employment in the sector.


Tourism

Several of Ireland's most visited tourist attractions are in the Dublin area, including the
Guinness Storehouse Guinness Storehouse is a tourist attraction at St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin, Ireland. Since opening in 2000, it has received over twenty million visitors. The Storehouse covers seven floors surrounding a glass atrium shaped in the for ...
(nearly 1.8 million visitors in 2017),
Dublin Zoo Dublin Zoo ( ga, Zú Bhaile Átha Cliath), in Phoenix Park, Dublin, is a zoo in Ireland, and one of Dublin's most popular attractions. Established and designed in 1830 by Decimus Burton, it opened the following year. Today it focuses on conserv ...
(1.2m visitors in 2017), and the
National Gallery of Ireland The National Gallery of Ireland ( ga, Gailearaí Náisiúnta na hÉireann) houses the national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on ...
(more than 1 million visitors). As of 2016, Dublin attracted over 5.6 million overseas visitors, generating over €1.9 in revenue.


Higher education

Higher education institutions contributed €10.6 billion to the national economy in 2011. This included nearly €1 billion from international students, where 57% of these international students are based in the Dublin region. As a university city, several of the largest universities and colleges are located in the capital, including the largest ( University College Dublin - UCD), and one of the oldest (
Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...
). A 2014 study indicated that the three universities in Dublin (
Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) ( ga, Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a university based on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin'' in 1975, it enrolled its ...
, Trinity College, and UCD) were among the top institutions for economic impact nationally.


See also

* Dublin-Belfast corridor * Transport in Dublin *
Economy of Cork The second largest city in Ireland, Cork, has an economy focused on the city centre, which as of 2011, supported employment for 24,092 people. According to 2006 figures, the top five employers in the area were public sector organisations, and in ...
* Economy of Belfast * Economy of Limerick


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Economy Of Dublin Economy of the Republic of Ireland