22 December 2025
4 min read
Ireland has emerged as a leading performer in the European Innovation Scoreboard. This article explores what is driving that progress and where challenges remain.
If you want to know which direction the European economy is heading, look at the European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS). It is the European Commission’s primary health check for innovation, benchmarking every Member State against 32 different indicators – from how well we educate our children to how much we invest in intellectual property.
In the 2025 assessment, Ireland didn’t just perform well; it became a standout performer. We have officially claimed the title of leader of the “Strong Innovators” group.
The EU splits countries into four tiers based on their performance against the average. In 2025, Ireland significantly narrowed the gap with the “Innovation Leaders” – the absolute top tier.
We are currently performing at 123.1% of the EU average. To put that in perspective: while the EU’s overall innovation growth dipped by 0.4% recently due to global pressures, Ireland defied the trend, growing its score by 4.1% in the last year alone.
Ireland’s success isn’t just a result of government policy; it’s down to the tactical choices made by Irish companies on the ground.
✅ Digital First
We are currently an EU leader in adopting advanced tech. Look at Cloud Computing: Irish firms have more than tripled their use of enterprise-level cloud services in just a few years. We also rank 6th in the EU for the percentage of our workforce employed as ICT specialists.
✅ The Collaborative SME
Perhaps our greatest secret weapon is how well our SMEs play with others. Irish small businesses are far more likely to collaborate with other firms or research bodies than their European peers. We rank 4th in the EU for this kind of “collaborative innovation”
✅ The Talent Pool
Everything is underpinned by our “Tertiary Advantage”. Ireland has the highest rate of tertiary education attainment in the EU, scoring over double the European average. This creates a massive talent pool for our heavy hitters in MedTech and Pharma.
Innovation in Ireland isn’t just a Dublin story. The Regional Innovation Scoreboard shows a more nuanced picture:
| Region | Classification | Key Strength |
| Eastern & Midland (Dublin) | Innovation Leader- | High concentration of MNCs and PhD graduates. |
| Northern & Western | Strong Innovator+ | Fastest growth; ranked 41st out of 241 EU regions. |
| Southern (Cork/Limerick) | Strong Innovator | Excellence in education and high-tech exports. |
Despite the accolades, we have some stubborn hurdles to clear if we want to reach the top tier:
The SME/MNC Divide: There is still a massive gap between what multinationals spend on R&D and what indigenous SMEs can afford. We need more targeted support to help local firms close this gap.
Red Tape: Too many firms still find the process of claiming tax credits or grants to be an administrative nightmare.
Skills & Energy: Even with our high education levels, many companies report a shortage of specific technical skills. Combine that with rising energy costs, and investment optimism starts to feel the pinch.
While the scoreboard is the “go-to” compass for EU policy, it’s far from universally loved. It does a great job of benchmarking 32 different indicators to help direct national investment, but many experts think the way it crunches those numbers is fundamentally misleading.
The biggest gripe? The Summary Innovation Index (SII). It lumps totally different metrics together without separating “inputs” (money spent) from “outputs” (actual results). In theory, a country’s score could climb simply because they are throwing money at a problem, even if they aren’t producing any real breakthroughs. By weighting every indicator equally, critics argue the scoreboard oversimplifies complex systems and can accidentally hide a decline in high-value results like new patents or industrial designs.
Our national goal is to move from a “Strong Innovator” to a permanent “Innovation Leader” – a status reserved for those scoring above 125% of the EU average.
With the current momentum in AI and green tech, we are only 1.9 percentage points away from that target. We aren’t just participating in the race anymore; we are setting the pace for the rest of Europe.
If you have any questions about Innovation Funding please get in touch with ABGI Ireland. A member of our team will get back to you to discuss your unique needs and explain how we can assist.
