Why this is important to Wisconsin businesses: Even as domestic production grows, Ireland still imports a significant portion of its medical device needs.
Ireland’s medical device sector continues to show vibrant growth and is considered a cornerstone of the Irish economy.
Ireland is recognized as a global medical technology (medtech) hub, with 450 companies employing 42,000 people, James McMahon, who leads the tax incentives team at Grant Thornton, told The Irish Times in August 2022. Medtech exports are projected to reach €12.6 billion ($14.3 billion USD) annually.
Ireland’s medtech industry has seen “tremendous growth” over the past five years, partly because of the global pandemic, McMahon said.
Digital health alone involves more than 200 companies in Ireland. Enterprise Ireland expects that market could exceed €300 billion ($341 billion USD) by 2024.
Ireland is home to nine of the world’s top 10 medtech companies, and to all 10 of the world’s leading biopharma and technology companies.
The medical devices sector is involved in a diverse range of products including disposable plastic and wound care products, precision metal implants such as pacemakers, microelectronic devices, orthopedic implants, diagnostics, contact lenses, and stents. Key companies include Abbott Ireland, Bayer, Becton Dickinson, Boston Scientific, Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, Smith and Nephew, Kinetic Concepts, Novate Medical, Stryker, and Teleflex Medical.
Medical device imports, meanwhile, increased by 14.8% to €3.2 billion ($3.6 billion USD) in 2022.
Galway is the primary hub for the Irish medical device industry, both for foreign-owned medical device companies and for domestic startups.
Recent investments in the medical device industry include:
• Abbott Ireland: $450 million in a new site in Kilkenny that will employ an additional 1,000 people, increasing its workforce to 6,000.
• Boston Scientific: $100 million to expand its Galway operations. The facility, which exports more than 4 million heart stents, vascular balloons, and other medical devices each year, will power 40,000 square feet of new clean room space through renewable energy sources.
• Medtronic: A €5 million ($5.7 million USD), five-year partnership with the University of Galway.
The Irish government offers a variety of incentives to promote and nurture the growth of the medical device industry.
Wisconsin medtech companies could find opportunities to collaborate in Ireland, as the industry is expected to be one of the major drivers of industrial growth for the country’s future.
