More than half of Irish manufacturers have already adopted artificial intelligence, and the trend is accelerating. The Irish Medtech Sector Manufacturing Report 2025 by Irish Medtech, the IBEC group for Ireland’s medical technology sector, finds AI adoption in Irish manufacturing at 54%, well above the national average of 39%. Companies deploy technology to offset skills shortages and boost efficiency, and with the sector exporting over €16 billion annually, AI is central to Ireland’s industrial strategy.

The numbers signal genuine momentum and the ambition is equally striking. Two-thirds of firms plan to introduce or enhance AI within the next one to two years to improve efficiencies. Three dynamics define the picture: the AI adoption gap between manufacturing and the wider economy, the talent constraint shaping investment decisions, and the competitive urgency facing a sector at the forefront of global medtech output.

The adoption gap is the most commercially significant finding. Manufacturing firms outpace national AI adoption by 15 percentage points, reflecting recognition that digital tools are operational necessities. The report, based on a survey of more than 100 senior business leaders, finds that planned AI initiatives are genuinely new, confirming a substantial opportunity for firms that act.

Skills shortages remain the defining structural pressure. Some 80% of companies cite access to talent as a core policy concern, and the AI adoption data shows technology is increasingly the practical response. Rather than viewing skills gaps as obstacles, leading manufacturers are reframing them as the mandate for automation. With medtech employment forecast to reach 56,000 by 2028, the sector demands human capital investment and digital enablement.

The competitive stakes are underlined by Ireland’s medtech position. Ireland is one of the top five global medtech hubs and holds an 80% share of global stent production and 75% of orthopaedic knee manufacturing. Jackie Murphy, newly appointed Irish Medtech Chair, highlighted the EU’s €200 billion InvestAI fund, with €20 billion earmarked for AI gigafactories, as a unique opportunity for Ireland to lead digital manufacturing.

Three priorities follow. Digital transformation roadmaps should be validated against sector benchmarks, treating 54% as a floor rather than a ceiling. Workforce strategy should integrate AI deployment plans, treating technology and skills investment as complementary commitments. And boards should assess eligibility for EU InvestAI funding and IBEC digital transformation programmes to accelerate the capability-building the report identifies as a business imperative.

The Irish Medtech Manufacturing Report captures a sector committed to leading on AI. For C-suite leaders across Irish manufacturing, the message is clear: more than half of their peers already use AI to address the talent challenge, and two-thirds plan further investment. Competitive advantage is increasingly determined not by whether Irish manufacturers adopt AI, but by how effectively they deploy it.

(The views expressed by the writer are his/her own and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of BusinessRiver.)