Ireland

Summary
With an average DDI value of 0.38 over the last 13 years, Ireland has consistently been one of the least digitally dependent countries in the dataset from 2010 to 2023. This autonomy is thanks to exceptionally low dependency on ICT services (averaging 0.06) and ICT goods (averaging 0.38). The former is due to the significant presence of US tech companies that use Ireland as a critical gateway to the European Union market and dominate the Irish economy. By contrast, virtually total dependence is observed in platform and ICT patents. Ireland’s bilateral dependence on both the United States and China shows sharp fluctuations between 2010 and 2023 (between 0.25 and 0.86 for China and between 0.18 and 0.67 for the US). In both cases, the lowest level of dependency was achieved around 2020.

Policies
Ireland aims to become a "Silicon Island" as stated in the country's “National Semiconductor Strategy” in 2025. By supporting local startups and building different production facilities, Ireland wants to tackle the dependence on foreign supply chains. Another crucial policy is the updated “National Digital and AI Strategy”, published in 2026. Among other goals, it targets 100% digitalisation of key public services by 2030.