Ireland research expenditure reaches €953m in 2025

Ireland’s publicly funded research system reached a total expenditure of €953 million in 2025, marking an 8.3% increase from the previous year, according to the Annual Knowledge Transfer Survey (AKTS) 2025 by Enterprise Ireland.

The report highlights significant growth in innovation and industry collaboration. There were 1,450 active industry R&D projects at the end of the year and 2,393 new R&D and consultancy agreements, with 63% of these involving Irish SMEs. Intellectual property activity also rose, with 528 invention disclosures and 118 patent applications recorded.

The research ecosystem contributed to job creation through spin-out companies. In 2025, 20 new spin-outs were established, bringing the total number of active spin-outs to 178, which employ 2,467 people. Additionally, 20 licenses resulted in new products and services entering the market during the year.