Irish General Election 2024: Key Sectoral Issues

With Ireland’s 2024 General Election scheduled for 29 November and election campaigns underway, we review several industries vital to the Irish economy – technology, financial services and pharmaceuticals – and look at what the future policy landscape might look like for each. The next Programme for Government is likely to shape the Irish economic outlook and influence Ireland’s continued success as a hub for investment and innovation. Although infrastructure is a shared challenge across all industries, each sector also faces its own unique set of challenges.

Technology

• Solving the energy gap: Limited energy resources are having an acute effect on the tech sector, with Ireland’s current policies on data centres resulting in a de facto moratorium on further expansion due to concerns around constraints on the electricity grid. The issue has prompted warnings from industry leaders that Ireland could lose out to more accommodating markets, potentially jeopardising the future growth of the sector in Ireland.
• Regulator resourcing: Home to the EMEA headquarters of many of the world’s biggest tech companies means Ireland has some of the most important digital regulators in the EU, including the Data Protection Commission and Coimisiún na Meán, in addition to new regulatory obligations under the EU’s AI Act. Overseeing issues such as data protection, online safety, disinformation and misinformation, and AI requires significant resources and funding, something which those in tech support to avoid regulatory delays which can impact their business and operations across the EU. As government funded bodies, it will be up to the next Government to ensure sufficient funding is allocated to maintain Ireland’s relationship with the industry.

Financial Services

• Policy and taxation stability: Ireland is viewed by many as a financial gateway to Europe, with a stable approach to policy and taxation that supports investment and broad-based growth. In an increasingly competitive global environment and changing political landscape, maintaining policy and taxation stability is important in ensuring Ireland remains an attractive location for the financial services industry.
• Supporting market growth and consumer choice: With several banks exiting the Irish market in recent years and the continued growth in digital banking, the next government must ensure that regulation and policy keeps pace with the market, supporting companies’ growth and safeguarding consumer choice.

Pharmaceutical

• Improving access to new medicines: Patients and the medical community in Ireland have experienced significant delays in accessing new medicines due to a complex reimbursement process for pharmaceutical companies. Industry is calling on the next government to address this and implement policies that would speed up the availability of new medicines in Ireland, ensuring more equitable access for patients as well as improving Ireland’s attractiveness as a market for their products.
• Fostering innovation: Ireland is behind other countries when it comes to patient access to clinical trials, significantly impacting industry’s R&D efforts and growth opportunities for their operations in the country. To maintain Ireland’s competitiveness, policies to support the expansion of clinical trials will need to be considered by the next government.
• Responding to potential tariffs: Pharmaceuticals makes up a large portion of Ireland’s exports to the US. With US President Elect Donald Trump promising to impose tariffs on imports, industry will be looking to how the next Irish government responds and what supports will be on offer to support their continued operations here.

For more information, please reach out to the FTI Consulting Dublin team.