Ireland fifth in the EU Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI)

This week, Minister for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, Robert Troy TD, welcomed the news that Ireland has again turned in a strong performance in the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI).

The country holds on to its fifth place in the European Commission’s assessment of all 27 EU Member States.

The DESI is a composite index that summarises four relevant indicators (Connectivity, Human capital, Integration of digital technology, and Digital public services) on Europe’s digital performance and tracks the evolution of EU member states in digital competitiveness.

Here are some of the many indicators in which Ireland performed well:

• Connectivity: A top performer for mobile broadband take-up, almost reaching 100% of people. Up from 7th place on this indicator last year to 6th in 2022.

• Human capital: The share of people with basic digital skills and digital content creation skills is above the EU average.

• Integration of digital technology: Almost half of enterprises taking advantage of cloud services, again above the EU average of 34%.

• Digital public services: A score of 95% in open data.

SMEs embraced e-commerce

Ireland ranks very highly when it comes to the integration of digital technologies, mostly because many SMEs embraced e-commerce.

Speaking about Ireland’s index placing Minister, Troy said:

“This is a fantastic endorsement of the approach we take in Ireland to digital transformation - earlier this year I co-launched the new National Digital Strategy, announced the Grow Digital Fund and had the pleasure of appointing Ireland’s first AI Ambassador, Dr Patricia Scanlon.

“I am determined to keep up the momentum and ensure we maintain Ireland’s position at the forefront of digitalisation in Europe.”

Digital strategy

In February 2022, the government launched its new National Digital Strategy, Harnessing Digital. The strategy supports Ireland’s goal of becoming a leader in European and global digital developments, while also placing a strong emphasis on inclusiveness, (cyber) security and safety.

Harnessing Digital is aligned with EU priorities and includes sections covering digital transformation of business, digital infrastructure, skills, and digitalisation of public services. It is also aligned with national priorities, under Ireland’s 2021 Economic Recovery Plan and Ireland’s Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP).