Last year Intel completed a redundancy programme which led to job losses at its plant in Leixlip, along with other locations. Now all has changed and it is investing ¤5 billion in its Irish operation to meet the soaring demand for chips for artificial intelligence. After a few years under pressure from the market, Intel is again on the up and Ireland is benefiting. The company has a 35-year history in Ireland and has already invested some ¤30 billion in Leixlip, making it one of the State’s top manufacturing locations where close to 5,000 people are directly employed. Several hundred additional permanent jobs are expected, along with significant construction employment, as Intel gears up the site to make it latest generation of chips. The additional jobs are welcome but – most importantly – the investment will underpin the company’s operations in Ireland for some years to come by equipping it to have a central part in its AI supply chain. Massive investment by major tech companies in AI infrastructure, including data centres, is central to the demand benefiting chip makers worldwide, with shares in the sector rising sharply this year.Occasional wobbles, including on Monday in the markets, reflect some uncertainty about current market valuations and who will profit from the AI boom. But major investment in AI looks certain to continue and chip makers are tooling up to meet rising demand. The decision-making in large international companies like Intel is complex, relying both on market conditions and competition between different company subsidiaries across the world. The new investment suggests that Ireland is now well-placed, despite having lost out in 2022 as Intel announced it would build a plant in Magdeburg, Germany, which was subsequently cancelled in the 2025 cost-cutting drive.The EU’s Chips Act aims to reduce reliance on foreign supplies of chips. Now Ireland has emerged as central to the company’s European operations and the supply chains which the European Commission is trying to underpin. The US government last year took a 9.9 per cent stake in Intel, with the company emphasising its commitment to research and manufacturing in America. The latest investment in Ireland reflects the reality that even if they are spending more at home, multinationals also require international manufacturing locations. It also suggests that Intel is content that Government commitments of additional investment in Ireland’s infrastructure will be delivered. The Intel investment provides confidence that, even in the context of Trump’s Maga policies, Ireland can continue to attract key US investment projects. And underlines again the work the Government needs to do in areas like energy, water and housing to underpin this trend for the future.