Investment in innovation can support long-term resilience and competitiveness as well as lead to social and environmental improvements. By supporting the development of new technologies, products or processes, innovation can enable the economy to respond to challenges such as decarbonisation and digitisation.
Foreign owned enterprises account for a substantial share of enterprise research and development (R&D) activity in Ireland, contributing to knowledge transfer, high-value employment and technological development within the economy.
This chapter shows how:
Data on research and innovation performance across the EU is reported by European Commission.
In 2025, Ireland ranked fifth out of the 27 EU member countries in the European Commission’s assessment of the research and innovation performance of EU member states. Only Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and Finland ranked higher.
The innovation performance score of each country is calculated based on 32 indicators capturing a broad range of activities and factors related to innovation, including many factors related to enterprises such as: R&D expenditure in the business sector; Employed ICT specialists; SMEs introducing product innovations; Employment in innovative enterprises; Exports of medium and high-tech products; and labour productivity. See Figure 2.1 and Table 2.1.
Data on R&D is reported in the CSO, Business Expenditure on Research and Development releases.
R&D expenditure by enterprises in Ireland in 2023 was €7.0 billion, which was 80.6% higher compared with 2021 (€3.9 billion). See Figure 2.2 and Table 2.2.
Despite Irish-owned enterprises representing the majority (72.6%) of enterprises engaged in R&D in 2023, foreign-owned enterprises accounted for 83.8% or €5.9 billion of all R&D expenditure, with Irish-owned enterprises accounting for the remaining 16.2% or €1.1 billion. See Table 2.2, Figure 2.3 and Table 2.3.
There was also significant concentration of R&D expenditure, with the top ten enterprises by R&D spend accounting for over half (57.8%) or €4.0 billion of total R&D expenditure in 2023, up from 37.4% in 2021. See Figure 2.4.
There were 40,956 people employed in R&D activities in enterprises in Ireland in 2023, of which 52.6% or 21,537 people were employed in large firms. See Figure 2.5 and Table 2.5.
Data on R&D expenditure by enterprises across the EU is reported by Eurostat.
The average business enterprise expenditure on R&D per capita for the 27 European Union countries was €580. Ireland ranked second with expenditure of €1,329 per capita. Sweden had the highest expenditure per capita of €1,375, with Denmark in third place on €1,203 per capita. See Figure 2.6 and Table 2.6.
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