IDA Ireland has announced its strategy for the period to 2020 and has said it intends to create more than 105,000 jobs by 2014.
Chief executive Barry O'Leary said it was the first time the authority had published its strategy in this way and withheld some of the details because he said the competition for foreign direct investment was enormous.
His briefing in Dublin, at which the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan, also spoke, was attended by a number of executives from multinationals based in Ireland, as well as personnel from foreign embassies.
Mr O'Leary said the authority has conducted a detailed analysis of the "megatrends, economic geopolitical changes and technology roadmaps" for the period, from which it has devised Ireland's strategy.
The IDA Ireland strategy is centred on "transformation", including the transformation of companies located here in a process involving IDA support.
The authority wants to win employment intensive services investments, new forms of foreign investments, and increased investment from new emerging high growth markets. It also wants to locate 50 per cent of new investment outside Dublin and Cork.
Mr O'Leary said increased collaboration between the members of "team Ireland" was a key part of the strategy, by which he meant foreign and Irish companies, State agencies, universities, and Government.
He said Ireland's competitive position had improved markedly since the downturn, with costs such as salaries and rents coming down.
Ms Coughlan said more could be achieved in this regard and there were still sectors who were resisting price reductions.