Elaine Murray
Public Affairs Lead, EIT Health Ireland-UK
Amid geopolitical uncertainty, investment often stalls. This is evident across the global life sciences sector, where investment declined 41% from 2023 to 2024, according to EY.
In Ireland, deal volume rose over the same period, but total value dropped sharply by 86%, reflecting a broader global hesitancy — yet highlighting opportunity.
Ireland’s strategic investment appeal
Ireland continues to draw investment thanks to its size, skilled workforce and ease of access to senior decision-makers, including government leaders. One of Ireland’s greatest strategic advantages is its EU membership. Businesses benefit from access to the single market, the €95 billion Horizon Europe research and innovation programme and alignment with digital transition initiatives. Together, these elements help companies stay competitive, even in turbulent times.
The power of the single market
Home to 450 million consumers, the EU Single Market is the world’s largest, and Ireland remains its only English-speaking member. For spin-outs and multinationals alike, access to this market offers unique growth opportunities.
Ireland already benefits from the single market’s free movement of goods, capital, services and people, attracting top talent from across Europe. The 2024 Enrico Letta report, Much More Than a Market, calls for a ‘fifth freedom’ — of knowledge, research and innovation. If implemented, this could rapidly advance AI, genomics and biotech. Early investors stand to benefit from this evolving knowledge economy.
Home to 450 million consumers,
the EU Single Market is the world’s
largest, and Ireland remains its
only English-speaking member.
Driving innovation through EU programmes
There are a multitude of opportunities for Irish businesses to join European innovation initiatives via Horizon Europe, the world’s largest R&I funding programme. EIT Health, an integral part of Horizon Europe’s Pillar III, has a footprint across 18 countries via local teams that connect health innovators with European opportunities, such as the Industry-led Pact for Skills Partnership and European Partnership for Personalised Medicine. To date, EIT Health has supported 3,200 companies (122 in Ireland) to access European markets.
Accelerating the digital transition
Ireland’s appeal as a hub for data-driven innovation is reinforced by aligning with EU digital strategies. The European Strategy for Data (2020) aims to create a single market for data across 14 sectors via data-sharing infrastructure frameworks. Anonymised datasets will be made available for research, innovation and policymaking. The first of these, the European Health Data Space (EHDS), is designed to accelerate breakthroughs in digital health, pharma and personalised medicine.
With its strategic EU position and dynamic research ecosystem, Ireland offers a powerful platform for forward-thinking investment.
