A slew of accounts filed by Microsoft’s Irish units give a rare insight into the importance of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Ireland. Accounts for the year to the end of June 2025 for Microsoft Ireland Operations Ltd, its main trading business based here, shows that its staff headcount increased last year to 2,934. Add in social security costs, pension and share-based payments and the average rises to just shy of $178,000. At Microsoft Ireland Research (MIR), which licenses the tech giant’s assets to other group entities, the 1,463 were even better paid, earning on average $144,200 in wages and salaries. Clearly, these are valuable jobs, with those high earnings rippling out into the Irish economy.

Source: The Irish Times April 11, 2026 22:20 UTC