The most important industries in Ireland are the computer and pharmaceutical industries. They have been at the helm of the Irish industry sector development. Since Ireland is not blessed with a lot of natural resources, it depends on its industrial sector for growth.
The various kinds of industries in Ireland include:
Steel
Lead
Zinc
Silver
Aluminium
Barite
Gypsum mining processing
Food products
Brewing
Textiles
Clothing
Chemicals
Pharmaceuticals
Machinery
Rail transportation equipment
Glass and crystal
Software
Tourism
According to 2009 data, Ireland’s industry sector contributed 46% to the national economy and employed 27% of the workforce. In fact, most service sector firms stem from the industrial sector as well, thus cumulatively both sectors contribute more than 94% to the employment scenario.
The industrial sector through increased trade has been able to help the country decrease its negative account balance from -$13.88 billion to -$5.308 billion (2009). The foreign players have also attracted more FDI. According to the 2009 stats, the country had $174.2 billion in FDIs in house and $157.1 billion in FDIs abroad. With demand for technology increasing tremendously, the Ireland industry sector has been able to stay strong even in the worst economic times.
Ireland has also kept energy production high, producing 26.06 billion kWh in 2009. The amount of energy produced is sufficient for the industrial sector, which consumes around 25.12 billion kWh. In fact, the excessive production has been able to help the country in terms of exports. Ireland exports around 753 million kWh annually (2008).