Round about the early 1960s, the Irish government sought to boost employment in the country by granting tax concessions / incentives to multi-national companies who might be looking to expand their European operations. This led to the manufacturing industry in Ireland growing and expanding bit by bit during the next few decades. Today, Ireland's manufacturing industry varies from pharmaceuticals (Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline etc.) to computer components (Dell, Intel, Wyatt) to medical devices (eg Boston Scientific, who have large plants in the cities of Cork and Galway).

Indigenous manufacturing wouldn't quite be on the same scale. Ireland is not devoid of home-grown products, it's just that few if any of these companies employ the same levels of people as the 3 sectors mentioned above. Dairy food production would, perhaps unsurprisingly, be one of the few industries to challenge (see companies like the Kerry Group and Glanbia for more). Alcoholic beverage production also, eg the Guinness factory in Dublin, and the Bulmers / Magners cider plant in Co. Tipperary. Other smaller industries include clothing, jewellery, and crystal companies like the world famous Waterford Crystal (although this particular company's future is currently uncertain).

However, with many multi-nationals finding that more competitive business conditions can now be found in places like eastern Europe and Asia, significant factory / plant closures etc. have been occuring with more and more frequency. One of the Irish government's biggest challenges in the coming years will be to limit the amount of multi-nationals who are moving out.