Dublin was ranked among the top 50 most expensive cities in the world and moved up 10 spots from its position last year, which may hit Ireland’s attractiveness to multinationals, according to a report.
The capital of the Republic reached the 41st position in the 2024 Cost of Living City Ranking, released by financial services firm Mercer, which is often used by multinationals to gauge wage demands in different locations.
“Cost of living is a key consideration for multinational businesses making decisions on site selection and expansion,” said Danny Mansergh, head of career consulting at Mercer.
“High demand in the private rental market, often the biggest cost for companies placing employees on assignment, along with such items as utility costs, present challenges for employers of international assignees,” he said.
Eye-watering house prices likely contributed to Dublin rising up the list and many industry leaders have previously voiced concern about how the chronic shortage of supply, in addition to high prices in the housing market, threaten foreign direct investment into the Republic.
Dublin ranked higher than Barcelona, which ramped up its strategy to attract more multinationals in recent years. Australia’s Sydney, which has become a main destination for young Irish emigrants, was also lower on the list than Dublin.
However, the Irish economy is viewed as overall healthy by leading analysts, including the ESRI, and has maintained its reputation as a popular base for some of the world’s largest companies including Apple and Pfizer as the State continues to benefit from corporation tax hauls.
The budgetary watchdog Ifac however has warned the Government about their overreliance on corporation tax receipts, which it views as a volatile revenue source.
Mercer’s list may signal another warning to the Government about its dependence on multinationals if other cities are becoming increasingly more attractive to invest in.
Meanwhile, the list also showed the most expensive city in the world currently is Hong Kong and, ranking in last place at 226, Abuja, Nigeria, is the cheapest city.