AI will be worth €250bn to Irish GDP by 2035, says report by TCD and Microsoft
Microsoft Ireland general manager Catherine Doyle and Dr Ashish Kumar Jha, associate professor of Business Analytics at Trinity Business School and co-author of a report by Microsoft and TCD which found AI is expected to add €250bn to Ireland’s economy by 2035.
Adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in Ireland has surged in the past year, with 91% of organisations now using AI in some form, a report compiled by Trinity College and Microsoft states.
AI is expected to contribute at least €250bn to Ireland’s GDP by 2035, the report said, and this could increase by a further €60bn depending on how businesses, government, and industry leaders harness its capabilities.
The report found that multinational companies in Ireland are leading AI adoption, with 50% of multinationals having an AI policy or actively developing one. In contrast only 10% of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have an AI strategy in place. Around 49% of SMEs are actively using AI in some form but 62% of SMEs cited lack of expertise as the biggest barrier to adoption.
Only 10% of public sector organisations have a formal AI policy in place. A further 40% are in the process of developing one, leaving half without structured AI governance. "Ireland is at a pivotal moment in its AI adoption journey, and this year’s research underscores both the progress made and the work still to be done," said Dr Ashish Kumar Jha, associate professor of business analytics at Trinity Business School and co-author of the report. “AI adoption in Ireland has nearly doubled in the past year, but the challenge now is moving beyond experimentation to full-scale, strategic implementation.
"Larger firms are leading the charge, while SMEs - which make up 99.8% of enterprises in Ireland - and the public sector risk falling behind due to barriers in expertise, investment, and structured deployment. For Ireland to fully realise AI’s economic potential, we must address barriers faced by SMEs and the public sector, focusing on governance, skills development, and strategic integration.”
Smaller organisations, especially those with revenues under €10m, tend to adopt AI as part of broader software packages rather than through integrated or standalone AI solutions, the study found.
Microsoft Ireland general manager Catherine Doyle said AI is being increasingly recognised as a general-purpose technology, "similar to electricity and the internet".
“The European Commission’s recent report on EU competitiveness highlights the importance of AI adoption within industries where we are already strong for maintaining a competitive edge,” said Ms Doyle. “While Ireland has the essential ingredients for AI success, we must recognise the challenges that businesses, especially SMEs, face in fully unlocking AI’s potential."
The report notes wider concerns around companies without a dedicated AI strategy in place. Around 80% of organisations report employees using free AI tools without built-in enterprise security controls.
The research was conducted by the Trinity Centre for Digital Business and Analytics (CDBA) at Trinity Business School. The project was coordinated by associate professors Ashish Kumar Jha and Nicholas Danks, conducted with market research firm 3GEM. The research surveyed 300 senior leaders across diverse industries across the 32 counties.
