Ireland number one in EMEA market for AI strategy integration, according to new Deloitte research
- Over the next 12 months, 91% of companies surveyed in Ireland plan to increase financial investment in AI and 87% have alreadyincreased AI spending in the last year.
- Nearly half (49%) say AI initiatives have created revenue growth opportunities.
- A similar number (46%) have already made a return on their investment within two years for their most successful AI use case and more than half (52%) have seen an ROI of greater than 41%.
- More than a third (35%) say between 6% and 10% of their total revenue is due to the successful implementation of AI.
- Half (51%) are investing 11-20% of their tech budget in AI initiatives.
23 October 2025. New Deloitte research across 15 countries show that Ireland is emerging as a major AI investment hub, ranking number one for AI strategy integration in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
Deloitte’s latest survey reflects the perspectives of nearly 2,000 C-suite executives when it comes to AI adoption.
The findings, which include perspectives from 105 senior leaders of large enterprises in Ireland, show that Ireland is punching above its weight in AI leadership, with one in four Irish firms now having a Chief AI officer. This is compared to one in five (19%) in the 15 EMEA countries surveyed. Ireland is the second highest in this regard, only behind Belgium (29%).
The data also signals that Ireland is showing leadership in formalising AI governance and accountability with four in five (81%) companies integrating AI into their corporate vision, the highest number of the 15 countries surveyed.
AI investment in Ireland is both sustained and accelerating, with nearly half (46%) of Irish companies seeing a return within two years on their most successful use case and more than half (52%) have seen an ROI of greater than 41%.
Over the next 12 months, 91% of organisations in Ireland plan to increase financial investment in AI, with 27% saying it will increase significantly or drastically.
87% have already increased AI spending in the last year.
Organisations favour a hybrid investment approach - 38% plan to buy more tools, 33% plan to build more, while 28% will do a mix of both.
What we are seeing is that Ireland is emerging as a true leader in AI value realisation,
points out Ita Langton, Head of Technology and Transformation at Deloitte Ireland.
This is being driven by C-Suite leadership in Ireland, with 30% of AI use cases being identified by this group. This is one of the highest in Europe following the UK (36%), Belgium (33%) and Germany (32%).
“With nearly half of organisations already reporting returns within two years from
their most successful AI use case, it means investment is no longer speculative, it’s delivering real business impact and reinforces Ireland’s position at the forefront of AI maturity across EMEA. At Deloitte, we’re seeing Irish clients move from exploration to execution, making sure innovation happens responsibly and at scale.”
AI value realisation research
This research is a comprehensive initiative to assess the current state of Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption among large private sector enterprises across 15 countries in Europe and the Middle East: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates and the UK.
A total of 1,854 qualified responses were collected. To qualify, respondents had to:
- Work in firms with $500 million + annual revenue and have 1,000 + employees.
- Be responsible for AI-related decisions.
- Use or pilot AI and Generative AI in daily business processes.
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In Ireland, Deloitte has approximately 3,000 people providing audit, tax, consulting, and financial advisory services to public and private clients spanning multiple industries. Our people have the leadership capabilities, experience and insight to collaborate with clients so they can move forward with confidence.
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Media Contact(s):
Declan Jackson
Deloitte Ireland Communications
dejackson@deloitte.ie
+353 1417 3522
Georgina Francis
Deloitte Ireland Communications
gefrancis@deloitte.ie
+353 1584 5459