Engineering a better future

As the voice of engineering businesses in Ireland, Ibec’s newest trade association, Engineering Industries Ireland supports the development of the engineering industry both domestically and internationally.

The trade association is comprised of over 150 members companies, spanning various subsectors of engineering such as energy and environment, industrial automation, precision engineering, agricultural machinery, materials handling, print and packaging, automotive, metal fabrication and engineering services.

Engineering in Ireland stands as one of the high-performing engines of our economy. The sector is composed of 10,800 individual enterprises, employing over 50,000 people with annual exports of €8.8 billion.

Engineering Industries Ireland, under the careful stewardship of our board of industry experts, launched its four-year strategy in 2022. As part of this strategy, the vision is for Ireland to become a global engineering centre of excellence, where multinationals and home-grown companies collaborate strategically to help companies become more sustainable, innovate, prosper, and drive economic growth.

To achieve this objective, the trade associations work focuses on four key pillars: innovation; sustainability; people; and regulation. Our aim in relation to these four pillars is to share best practices amongst our membership base, and to influence policy at both a national and European level.

Through our sustainability and regulatory working groups and policy committees, Engineering Industries Ireland lobby and influence on proposed regulation from the European Commission, most recently, the Corporate Sustainable Reporting Directive (CSRD), the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), and the Emissions Trading Scheme 2 (ETS2). Understanding best practice around these regulatory requirements is key to our members successfully implementing these regulations once transposed in Ireland.

Engineering Industries Ireland understands how important access to secure, clean, and affordable energy is to our members. Ireland is ideally placed to become a major producer and exporter of green energy, and it is important that the engineering sector is at the forefront of this change.

In its recent Pre-Budget Submission 2025, the trade association calls on the Government to implement measures to support engineering businesses ambition to decarbonise and play a leading role in climate change. These measures include the introduction of a super deduction capital allowance for business investment in environmental and sustainability related capital allowance investments. In addition to this, the submission calls on government to support the adaption of biofuels within the sector and to increase funding for state direct support schemes.

As members of Engineering Industries Ireland, organisations are uniquely positioned to influence and shape the future of Ireland’s engineering sector. Members also have access to a trusted HR and employment law service, industry advocacy and representation, subject matter working groups, national policy committees, and peer to peer networking