Ireland's UN SDG's - Goal 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth 2024

Goal 8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

Goal 8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.

Since the late 1950’s Ireland has adopted a policy of openness to international trade and foreign direct investment. This, together with investment in education and infrastructure, allowed Ireland to benefit from globalisation and the growth in world trade. The result has been strong economic growth as living standards in Ireland converged with Western Europe. Ireland has successfully developed foreign and indigenous industry in high value sectors such as Engineering, Chemicals, Medical Devices and Information and Communication Technology. Export led growth has created well-paying jobs and has contributed to returns to the exchequer and regional development. It has also strengthened the resilience of the Irish economy and powered the recovery from the financial crisis. In 2025, Ireland’s GDP reached €639.6 billion and total employment reached 2.833 million.

In recent years Ireland has dealt with the challenges posed by Brexit, the pandemic, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In 2026, we are faced with another crisis in the form of an energy shock due to conflict in the Middle East. However, this is not the only challenge to employment and economic growth that we face. In addition:

• The pace of technological change and its adaptation by society is ever-quickening;
• The imperatives of climate action mean we must accelerate the decarbonisation of our economy;
• The demographics of our society, and an aging population, put pressures on welfare, pensions and services, and on a generation coming forward whose jobs do not yet exist;
• The productivity of our domestically owned small and medium enterprises lags far behind the foreign owned firms.

In 2025 the Government published Ireland’s updated National Development plan, with unprecedented levels of investment, to secure Ireland's future, unlock housing, upgrade water and energy infrastructure, deliver more roads and provide better public transport, and boost our international competitiveness.

Building resilience in enterprise and sectors will be a core component of the plan, driven by sustaining and growing the SME sector, nurturing foreign direct investment in an increasingly competitive environment, boosting SME productivity and competitiveness, driving enterprise innovation and supporting technology adoption and the digital transformation of enterprises.

Considering these challenges and opportunities, the set of indicators contained in this report for SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth provide a good basis for assessing progress to date.