Employment in Industry was 12.5% of all employment in Q1 2026.
Ireland's Gross Expenditure on Research and Development (GERD) stood at an estimated 2.6% of GNI* (*Modified Gross National Income) in 2025, up from 2.5% in 2024.
Manufacturing Gross Value Added (GVA) at current basic prices in 2024 was €166.4 billion, up from €156.4 in 2023.
Ireland’s total Official Development Assistance (ODA) for 2024 was €2.35 billion, representing 0.56% of Gross National Income (GNI).
Six sectors accounted for 78% of territorial greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2023, with Agriculture (38%) and Households (24%) being the two highest emitting sectors.
This release ‘Ireland's UN SDGs – Goal 9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, 2026’, is the ninth in a series from the CSO. These releases monitor and report on how Ireland is progressing towards meeting its targets under the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from the United Nations (UN).
The CSO and Government Departments and organisations collaborate to bring together data required in these reports for Ireland’s SDGs. This collaboration is formalised under the SDG Data Governance Board, which meets on a quarterly basis.
This ninth publication includes data for Ireland for each of the SDG indicators selected by the UN to measure 'Goal 9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure'. Data are available at various levels of detail which include geography, gender, age group and other categories, where applicable.
This report on Goal 9 has 12 indicators (See Table of Contents), which are organised into three chapters:
The titles of these chapters are based around common themes in the eight targets which are measured by 12 indicators in Goal 9.
The previous reports published in the series under the 17 UN SDG Goals are releases with Ireland's UN SDGs data.
The 17 UN SDGs are a set of global development targets adopted by the United Nations (UN) member countries in September 2015 to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. The UN SDGs are driving the global development agenda towards 2030 (Agenda 2030). They address global challenges including those related to poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice. The 17 goals are all interconnected, and in order to leave no one behind, the aim is to achieve them all by 2030. They recognise that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and help economic growth, while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (19 June 2026) published Ireland's UN SDGs indicators data for Goal 9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure 2026.
Commenting on the release, Mary Smyth, Statistician, said:
"This latest release on United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) has data on 12 indicators for Ireland, divided over three chapters: Infrastructure, Industry, and Innovation. Data are presented in categories relevant to the indicators and geographical location, where possible. The UN SDGs and their associated indicators are, by design, wide-ranging in their coverage. As a result, the Irish data is provided by a number of sources including government departments, official organisations, and international organisations such as the UN".
Overall Results
CSO Labour Force Survey data show employment in Industry was 12.5% of all employment in Q1 2026. Industry employment increased from 332,600 people to 350,100 people, an increase of 5.3%, between Q1 2025 and Q1 2026.
Ireland’s Gross Expenditure on Research and Development (GERD) in 2025, is estimated to be around €8.4 billion, resulting in an estimate of 2.6% of GNI* (*Modified Gross National Income). There was an estimated total of 45,254 full-time equivalent (FTE) personnel working in R&D (Research and Development) in 2024, up from 43,707 FTE personnel in 2023, an increase of 3.4%.
Manufacturing Gross Value Added (MGVA) at current basic prices in 2024 was €166.4 billion, up from €156.4 in 2023. An annual decrease was recorded for MGVA at constant basic prices, down from €156.4 billion in 2023 to €154.8 billion in 2024.
Ireland’s total Official Development Assistance (ODA) for 2024 was €2.35 billion, representing 0.56% of Gross National Income (GNI). With Ukrainian refugee support excluded, the figure was €1.72 billion, or 0.41% as a percentage of GNI. This was up from 0.38% in 2023.
Six sectors accounted for 78% of territorial greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2023, with Agriculture (38%), Households (24%) and Industry (20%), being the three highest emitting sectors. Looking more specifically at NACE sectors, five accounted for 54% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2023, 15% of employment, and 24% of GVA. These were emissions from Agriculture (38%), Manufacture of Cement & Other Non-Metallic Minerals (6%), Land Transport (3%), Information & Communications (3%), and Manufacture of Food, Beverages & Tobacco (3%).