“Massive win” for Ireland as Twitter sets up international office in Dublin

Industrial Development Authority (IDA) Ireland announced this morning that Twitter is to establish an international office in Ireland – their third location outside of the United States. It’s not yet known whether this office will become Twitter’s European HQ – a title which may still be awarded to London.

Barry O’Leary, CEO of IDA Ireland, said that they were “thrilled” that Twitter had decided to set up office here and that the company would be “a fantastic addition to Ireland’s dynamic digital media cluster”.

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton had similar praise to offer. He described Twitter’s decision as a “massive win” for Ireland and justification for Ireland’s claim to be “the internet capital of Europe”. Twitter joins the likes of Apple, eBay, Facebook, Google, IBM, Intel, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Oracle, PayPal and Zynga, who are all already established here.

One of the main reasons that Twitter may choose Dublin over London as its European HQ is money. TechCrunch Europe report that Twitter stands to save 16% on corporation tax by operating in Dublin rather than London (which is only a 45 minute flight away). Similar to Google’s “Double Irish” strategy of foreign profit filtering through Dublin – a move which has saved Google £3.1 billion in the last three years – Twitter may wish to save money and pay less tax with the same tactic.

The location of Twitter’s Dublin offices has not been disclosed, neither have details concerning the number of people expected to be employed been released.