Overview
Ireland’s $50 billion digital industry represents an integral part of Ireland’s economy with Technology Ireland estimating that the sector accounts for 13 percent of Ireland’s GDP. Major U. S. multinationals like Apple, AWS, Cisco, Google, HPE, IBM, Intel, Meta, Microsoft and Oracle are prominent among 1,000 digital companies operating in Ireland. There is also a significant group of American digital SMEs with an Irish presence. As home to the EMEA headquarters of many of the leading global tech firms, Ireland plays a central role in ensuring that EU digital regulations are implemented coherently and effectively.
Launched in 2022, Ireland’s national digital strategy, “Harnessing Digital - The Digital Ireland Framework” prioritizes four pillars - the digital transformation of business; investment in digital infrastructure; digital skills development; and the digitalization of public services. It outlines ambitious targets to digitize Irish businesses, including SMEs to enable enterprises have strong engagement around cloud computing, artificial intelligence and big data by 2030. Improved broadband infrastructure aimed at bridging the gap between rural and urban areas, as well as improving international high-speed connectivity with Ireland are essential to a commitment that almost all public services will be delivered online by 2030.
Key milestones are published annually in the National Digital Strategy progress report. The strategy is currently being updated, and the revised version will set out a coherent vision for Ireland as a digital, AI and innovation leader. In addition, the government will outline its plans to make Ireland an EU centre of expertise for digital and data regulation and a regulatory hub for companies operating across the EU Digital Single Market. As the strategy is aligned with EU 2030 digital transformation goals, the progress of Irish digital initiatives is recognized in the EU Digital Decade - Ireland Country Report 2025.
The $19 billion Irish digital market has experienced sustained demand growth since 2021 as digital technologies and solutions play an ever-increasing role across the economy. U. S. digital technology companies have a strong presence in this open and highly competitive market and new U. S. vendors offering emerging, innovative and leading-edge digital solutions encounter positive interest from potential Irish partners.
Ireland and the United States engage in regular dialogue on digital issues through Ireland’s active involvement in the Digital Nine Plus (D9+), an informal partnership of EU member states with likeminded views on digital and technology policy. As D9+ chair during the first six months of 2024, Ireland negotiated the April 2024 D9+ (Dublin) Ministerial Declaration which emphasized effective and coherent digital regulation as a foundation for innovation and growth in the EU. More recently, Ireland was a signatory to the October 2025 D9+ (Lisbon) Ministerial Declaration calling for ambitious digital simplification, pro-innovation regulation, strengthening investments in digital skills and supporting AI as a driver to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness.
Market Challenges
Transatlantic data flows are critical for all companies large and small across all sectors of the Irish economy. It is regularly cited that one-third of transatlantic data flows through Ireland given the strong presence of leading U. S. data center operators. The July 2023 EU-U. S. Data Privacy Framework re-establishing a legal mechanism for transfers of personal data from the EU to the United States has direct relevance for Ireland since many leading U. S. tech companies have located EMEA headquarters in Ireland. These companies have regular engagement with Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) as the Irish supervisory authority for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Since 2022, the DPC has completed inquiries on data privacy compliance at the following large tech firms; Instagram, LinkedIn, Meta, Tik-Tok, Vodafone, WhatsApp, X (formerly Twitter), and Yahoo. In July 2024, the DPC issued new guidance regarding AI Large Language Models (LLMs) and Data Protection having previously issued direction to both Meta and X regarding the usage of European user data in the development of their LLM systems.
As a Member State of the European Union (EU), Ireland is required to enact all relevant EU legislation governing the digital economy into the Irish statute book. This encompasses the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the Digital Services Act (DSA), the Data Governance Act (DGA), the Data Act, the Network and Information Systems (NIS) Directive, and its revision NIS2, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act, European Digital Identity Framework (eID), the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), the Cybersecurity Act and the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA). This body of legislation is important to U. S. tech companies doing business in Ireland as it may necessitate internal compliance obligations alongside market development opportunities. An overview of all relevant and future EU legislation governing the digital economy is available via the European Union Country Commercial Guide.
Irish government restrictions, announced in 2022, regarding electricity grid access for new data center projects until 2028 has generated significant uncertainty for future investments by leading U. S. data center operators who represent the vast majority of the 82 data center operating in Ireland. Given the threat to future data center investments now arising from the ever-increasing demands of AI solutions, government officials are finalizing long-awaited revised policy actions to address the energy constraints while also ensuring Ireland remains within its carbon targets.
The need for alignment with EU public procurement regulations, which are governed by the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) and the EU Public Procurement Directives, tends to see delays in progressing Irish public procurements. The Office of Government Procurement (OGP) has developed the policy framework for public procurement in Ireland. OGP endeavors to reduce procurement costs and achieve better value for money by providing Ireland’s Public Procurement Guidelines. Competitive dialogue, frameworks, and central purchasing arrangements are an emerging feature of Irish public procurement opportunities. Understanding the guidelines and new purchasing arrangements is crucial for U. S. suppliers seeking to pursue digital technology tenders published by Irish public sector bodies. Suppliers must also register on the eTenders procurement portal in order to submit bids electronically in line with EU policies around eprocurement.
Digital Trade Opportunities
The medium outlook for the Irish digital market is positive. Digital transformation continues to gather momentum with the accelerated move to hybrid and multi-cloud environments. Alongside implementing a digital initiative across the public sector, the Irish government is supporting SMEs in developing their online presence and eCommerce channels. Irish enterprises have spent $1. 4 million annually on data processing and storage activities in recent years. End user demand for cloud computing, (SaaS/IaaS/PaaS), is expected to underpin future market growth.
Annual expenditure in enterprise software is circa $668 million and is driven by customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions. Expenditure on network storage software is around $62 million while the security software market is estimated at $124 million. Spending on software in the healthcare sector is over $120 million.
The $600 million cybersecurity market is extremely vibrant with U. S. vendors having a strong market share. Reported economic crime and fraud in Ireland has increased significantly in recent years. The ongoing threat of cyber-attacks is driving increased spending on security solutions. PWC Ireland Digital Trust Insight Survey 2026 reveals that Irish businesses continue to increase spending on risk management technology with a focus on relocating critical infrastructure and changing vendors as businesses seek partners who meet higher security standards.
Cybercrime remains the most prevalent type of fraud committed in Ireland and is three times more disruptive than the global norm. Solutions utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are also increasing market penetration. Since the launch of Ireland’s AI strategy – “AI Here for Good”” in 2021, Ireland is making significant progress on AI adoption, innovation and digital transformation. The Irish government is keen to leverage its role as a hub for the major U. S. Very Large Online Platforms and Search Engines to position itself as a leader in AI to drive a transatlantic digital marketplace. The AI Economy in Ireland Report (March 2025) reveals that AI adoption in Ireland has surged to 91 percent, nearly doubling from 49% in 2024. The report projects that AI adoption will add at least $250 billion to Ireland’s economy by 2035.
Ireland’s national quantum technologies strategy, “Quantum 2030” focuses on four key pillars namely, applied research, skills development, international collaboration, and innovation. The €10 million IrelandQCI project is part of EuroQCI, an EU-wide quantum communications infrastructure program. Jointly funded by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) and the EU, IrelandQCI will trial 16 quantum security technology scenarios with key stakeholders across Ireland’s public, industry and academic sectors. The Irish Centre for High-End Computing (ICHEC) has a memorandum of understanding with Equal1 to advance the deployment of high-performance computing and quantum computing (HPC-QC) in Ireland and Europe to drive technical innovation, address complex scientific and industrial challenges and maintain global competitiveness. Separately, the ICHEC has signed an agreement to host Ireland’s latest EuroHPC national supercomputer in Ireland (CASPIr) from 2027 under the European Union’s Digital Europe program.
In the area of telecommunications, the Irish government seeks to provide a world class communications network with high quality services, supporting connected communities and enabling citizens to embrace digital opportunities, in a safe environment. Government policies and regulations in this area are centered on achieving; universal access to high-speed broadband, better connected communities, and strengthened cyber security.
International and national digital connectivity is important to maintaining and enhancing Ireland’s competitiveness in global markets, and in the knowledge and information economy. Since the 2021 launch of the National Broadband Plan over $3. 3 billion has been invested by the commercial telecommunications sector in upgrading and modernizing networks which support the provision of Gigabit broadband and mobile telecommunications services. Passive Optical Networks (PONs) used to provide fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) broadband are the technology of choice for the National Broadband Plan. In 2021, Intel partnered with CONNECT, the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Research Centre for future networks and communications at Trinity College Dublin. The research partnership focused on making PONs capable of supporting 5G wireless network cells and edge computing nodes in order to deliver new applications such as high-speed mobile streaming, augmented reality and autonomous driving.
As a high-tech, island economy, Ireland’s international telecommunications connectivity via subsea cables is essential. Ireland is currently connected to the global network via 14 sub-sea telecommunications cables, four of which connect to North America, one connects to Iceland, while the remainder connect to the UK. Since the UK withdrew from the European Union, Ireland has no direct telecommunication cable connection to any other EU Member State. This creates a need for investment to ensure that Irish and European policy is achieved. AWS is planning for its new US-Ireland subsea fiber-optic cable system between Maryland and Cork to be operational by 2028. In July 2025, the Washingto, DC-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) published a report on the future of subsea cables in Ireland.