The Irish economy has been increasingly attracting Chinese investment, but does it come with a reputational cost?

In 2020, 25 Chinese companies had operations in the Republic of Ireland. By this year the number had jumped to 40.

For some this new flood of yuan into the country offers Ireland an opportunity to reduce its reliance on being the European base for US tech giants such as Apple and Alphabet. And it creates additional jobs.

But for an increasing number of critics, Ireland being home to Chinese firms links the country to the human rights abuse allegations levelled against some such companies. These include Chinese clothing firm Shein, which since May 2023 has had its European headquarters in Dublin.

Shein has long been attacked for how the workers who makes its clothes are treated. And earlier this year it had to admit that it found child labour in its supply chain.

The Irish government is also in the diplomatically awkward position of luring many of the very Chinese companies that the US has sanctioned.

Two cases in point – telecoms firm Huawei and drugs company WuXi Biologics.

In May, Ireland’s Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Dara Calleary, welcomed a report celebrating how Huawei was contributing €800m ($889m; £668m) per year to the Irish economy. The firm has three research and development centres in Ireland.

This is the same Huawei whose telecoms network equipment the US has banned since 2022 due to concerns over national security. The UK has moved in the same direction, ordering phone networks to remove Huawei components. And mobile phone networks in many Western nations, including Ireland, no longer offer Huawei handsets.

Meanwhile, WuXi has, since 2018, invested more than €1bn in a facility in Dundalk, near the border with Northern Ireland.

Earlier this month the US House of Representatives passed a bill to restrict US firms’ ability to work with WuXi, again citing national security concerns. The bill now has to go to the US Senate.

Ireland’s Industrial Development Authority is the government agency whose mandate is to attract foreign investment into the country. It has three offices in China, and says it seeks “to promote Ireland as a gateway to Europe for Chinese investors”.

Another Chinese firm that has its European headquarters in Ireland is social media video app TikTok, which is owned by Beijing-based parent firm ByteDance. And the parent of Chinese online retailer Temu moved its global headquarters from China to Ireland last year.

Prominent critics of Ireland rolling out a “green carpet” to Chinse firms include Barry Andrews, one of Ireland’s members of the European Parliament. “Human rights and environmental abuses should not be allowed in Irish shopping baskets,” says the Fianna Fáil MEP.

He points to a US Congress report from last year, which said there was “an extremely high risk that Temu’s supply chains are contaminated with forced labour”.

Temu had told the investigation that it had a “zero-tolerance policy” towards the practice.

“One person’s bargain is another’s back-breaking work for poverty wages,” adds Mr Andrews, whose party is part of the current Irish government coalition.

Critics also argue that there are substantial differences between US tech firms operating in Ireland and Chinese ones – for example, about openness.

For instance, Huawei and WuXi declined an opportunity to be interviewed for this article. Shein provided a spokesperson who was only prepared to speak off the record, then did not reply to follow-up questions.

Some leading economists question whether Ireland even needs the few thousand jobs that the Chinese firms provide.

“Ireland’s economy has been running at near full employment for the best part of a decade,” says Dan O’Brien, chief economist at Ireland’s Institute of International and European Affairs.

Irish unemployment was 4.3% in August 2024, only slightly above its all-time low of 3.90% in October 2020. Economists generally consider an unemployment rate of around 4 to 5% to represent full employment.

Mr O’Brien also points to the fact that a fifth of Ireland’s private-sector employment is directly, or indirectly, attributable to foreign direct investment (FDI), according to official figures. He says this is too high.

It is so elevated because Ireland has one of the lowest standard corporation tax rates in Europe, at 12.5%. This is the tax that all but the very biggest firms have to pay on their profits. By comparison, the UK rate is 25%.

Mr O’Brien says that Ireland’s level of FDI was already too high without the Chinese investment on top. “Given we are already overly dependent on FDI in a world that is at risk of deglobalisation, we don’t need another major source of FDI on top of that from the United States.”

He adds EU rules should be “actively used to discourage Chinese FDI” in Ireland.

The Irish government tells the BBC that it “supports the common EU approach to China on de-risking… [but] the government has been clear that de-risking is not decoupling”.

Irish Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Peter Burke adds: “In an era of continuous global uncertainty, Ireland offers a stable and pro-business environment. Multinational companies, including Chinese companies, recognise these opportunities.”

Given how much Ireland’s economy does depend on FDI, some economists say Chinese investment in Ireland can be seen as a welcome insurance policy in case some US firms pull out.

“There is a huge pressure on US tech companies to re-domicile and re-invest in the US,” says Constantin Gurdgiev, an economist at Trinity College Dublin and the University of Northern Colorado.

Meanwhile, other European countries, such as Poland, Estonia, Slovakia, and Malta, have made inroads in courting US investments, presenting Ireland with new competition from countries with cheaper housing and less rain.

Dr Gurdgiev also points to “the forever-looming threat of global corporate tax reforms”, further eroding Ireland’s low corporation tax. The country has already signed up to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development rules, and as a result, this year introduced a 15% corporation tax rate for firms with an annual turnover of more than €750m ($835m; £625m).

And earlier this month, the European Court of Justice ruled that Apple had to pay Ireland €13bn in unpaid taxes. It followed after the European Commission accused Ireland of giving Apple illegal tax advantages.

Dublin consistently argued against the need for the tax to be paid, but said it would respect the ruling.

Dr Gurdgiev adds that Ireland is acting “with some strategic foresight” in courting Beijing. And that even if Dublin is welcoming the likes of Huawei, he says that the strength and influence of the Irish diaspora in the US means that Washington will turn something of a blind eye.

He argues that this is why the US authorities have been “largely laissez-faire in their approach to chasing tax optimization schemes that Dublin has been developing over decades”.

Plus, he says Ireland provides the US, EU and China with a useful “neutral ground” where both US and Chinese tech firms can operate.

Dr Gurdgiev adds that by putting itself in such a position, Ireland is playing a “dangerous geopolitical game” for a small economy.

However, he says its diplomatic closeness to the US should make its position “relatively safe”.

Austria’s far-right Freedom Party has opened the door to a new era, its leader Herbert Kickl has told supporters, as they celebrated an unprecedented election victory.

Projected results gave Kickl’s party 28.8% – more than two points ahead of the conservative People’s Party on 26.3%, but far short of a majority.

Kickl’s victory is only the latest in a string of far-right election successes in Europe and he praised voters for their “optimism, courage and trust” in delivering a “piece of history”.

The Freedom Party (FPÖ) has been in coalition before, but the second-placed conservative People’s Party has refused to take part in a government led by him.

Kickl’s main rival, incumbent Chancellor Karl Nehammer of the People Party (ÖVP), has said it’s “impossible to form a government with someone who adores conspiracy theories”.

There was a high turnout of 78% as Austria’s 6.3 million voters took part in an election dominated by the twin issues of migration and asylum, as well as a flagging economy and the war in Ukraine.

As half the map of Austria turned dark blue, FPÖ general secretary Michael Schnedlitz said “the men and women of Austria have made history today”, although he refused to say what kind of coalition his party would try to build. An analysis of voters suggested those aged 35-59 were most likely to vote for the far right, and marginally more women than men.

Kickl’s party is on course to secure about 56 seats in the 183-seat parliament, with the conservatives on 52 and the Social Democrats on 41.

The Freedom Party’s fiery leader had promised Austrians to build “Fortress Austria”, to restore their security, prosperity and peace, and he has aligned himself closely with Viktor Orban in neighbouring Hungary.

Social Democrat leader Andreas Babler warned that Austria must not go the same way as Hungary.

Kickl had also spoken of becoming Volkskanzler (people’s chancellor) which for some Austrians carries echoes of the term used to describe Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany.

The party was founded by former Nazis in the 1950s. Two days before the vote some of its candidates were caught on video singing an SS song at a funeral.

As the Freedom Party’s victory became clear, a small group of protesters appeared outside parliament carrying anti-Nazi banners.

Forming a coalition is likely to prove complicated for Kickl, who is a divisive figure.

The Social Democrats, Greens and Neos have all ruled out a partnership with the far right.

The only possible coalition Kickl’s party could form is with the conservatives, although the Freedom Party would have to find a solution to the People’s Party’s refusal to have Kickl as chancellor.

When Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party won the Netherlands’ election last November, he dropped his bid to become prime minister so that three other parties would agree to form a coalition. However, Kickl is keen to lead his country, promising Austrians to act as their “servant and protector”.

Political analyst Thomas Hofer told the BBC it was by no means clear that Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen, who oversees the formation of government, would give Kickl a “direct mandate to form a coalition”.

The conservative People’s Party could in theory scrape together a coalition with the Social Democrats if latest projections are correct, and could attract the liberal Neos party or the Greens.

Equally, Karl Nehammer may come under pressure from within the People’s Party to drop his objection. One leading FPÖ figure said after such a historic defeat he should resign, although that was rejected by the general secretary of Nehammer’s party.

President Van der Bellen has voiced reservations in the past about the FPÖ because of its criticism of the EU and its failure to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The party opposes EU sanctions on Moscow, citing Austria’s neutrality, and many of its MPs walked out of a speech to the parliament in Vienna last year by Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky.

Kickl’s projected victory is the latest in almost a year of vote successes for radical right-wing parties in Europe.

Italy’s Giorgia Meloni heads a right-wing coalition as leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party and Germany’s AfD topped the polls in the eastern state of Thuringia last month. France’s National Rally won the vote in European elections last June.

Unlike Kickl, Italy’s prime minister has given her full backing to the EU’s defence of Ukraine in the face of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

AfD co-leader Alice Weidel congratulated Kickl, posting a picture of the two together, and Marine le Pen of the National Rally said “this groundswell carrying the defence of national interests”, after the votes elsewhere in Europe, confirmed the “people’s triumphs everywhere”.

Geert Wilders said times were changing, and that “identity, sovereignty, freedom and no more illegal immigration/asylum” was what millions of Europeans were longing for.

Kickl has tapped into fears about immigration in Austria and he has made the most of anger at the government’s handling of the Covid pandemic, embracing conspiracy theories about obscure treatments for the virus.

For Kickl and his party, Sunday’s election victory represents a significant recovery from the 2019, when they came a distant third in the wake of a video sting scandal that engulfed their former leader.

“You’ll open the window one morning and it won’t look like Port Talbot.”

Photographer Jon Pountney said he remembers thinking “what the hell is this?” the first time he saw the steelworks, driving on the M4 to a party in Swansea in 1998.

He has been one of the photographers allowed regular access to capture the closure of Tata Steel’s blast furnaces, with the expected switch off on Monday ending the traditional way of steelmaking in Wales.

“As an outsider you just go in and think, ‘I don’t quite know how to respond to what I’m seeing because it’s so incredible’, and as a photographer that’s quite hard because you’re also trying to concentrate on the pictures,” he said.

His current project, The Allure or Ruins, focuses on post-industrial relics and landscapes of Wales – or “old stuff”, as he puts it.

But he said it has also been an opportunity to tell the story of Tata in “real time” and to “document stuff that is not going to happen again”.

“I didn’t know what to expect, and you’re basically met with a very large dark room where there is a river of molten metal running through the middle.”

“You’ve never seen anything like it – it’s this incredible almost volcanic elemental thing, which is quite terrifying,” he added.

The visual artist also said the sense of pride among the workers was “very, very tangible” as soon as you went on site.

“People are very professional and respectful of each other, and the stuff that they’re doing, which is incredibly dangerous,” he said.

Photographer Mark Griffiths described his “close connection” to the town, growing up in Port Talbot and having family and friends working in the steelworks or part of the surrounding infrastructure.

The 43-year-old said he felt compelled to make a short film called The Beginning Of The End, telling the story of a community facing an uncertain future.

“The ripple effect is going to be phenomenal. It’s not just the steel workers that are impacted, it’s the surrounding infrastructure, it’s the local businesses, it’s the communities that are going to be ripped apart and devastated by this.”

“I think that’s why it was important for me to make this work,” he said.

As part of the film, he spoke to to local MP Stephen Kinnock, a mental health charity, a union representative and business owner in the town.

“I’ve got a really close connection to a lot of people in Port Talbot – my uncles, my wider family, friends that have at some point worked in part of the steelworks, whether that’s directly or the surrounding infrastructure, so it was really difficult to hear their stories.

“Port Talbot has what I would consider a valley’s mentality, in that we are one giant family, everyone looks out for each other,” he added.

The photographer hopes his work will keep the town’s story in people’s minds, and encourage those in power to look out for the community too.

For Jon, there is a strange sense of déjà vu, having documented the fictional demise of a steelworks in the town as a production photographer for the Michael Sheen drama The Way last year.

Set in Port Talbot, it told the story of civil unrest and fears over the closure of a fictional steelworks and was described by the actor as “bizarrely very close to the truth”.

Although Jon sees a more hopeful picture for the future of the town than the one depicted on screen.

“That’s to do with the pragmatism of Welsh people, that even in bad times, a bit like the miners’ strike, it’s this kind of idea that we will continue.

“We will have order, we will have society, we will look after each other, and we will keep pushing forwards, and tomorrow will always be a better day,” he added.