EU Digital Decade 2026 country report: Ireland's digital strategy

The European Commission publishes the Digital Decade 2026 country report for Ireland assessing progress on digital targets, infrastructure, AI, semiconductors, edge nodes and data-center impacts.

• Main announcement / action: The European Commission presents the 2026 Digital Decade country report for Ireland, assessing progress against national trajectories and EU 2030 targets and reporting concrete figures on connectivity (VHCN, FTTP, 5G), AI adoption, semiconductor ecosystem and data-center energy use (e.g. Data centers consumed 22% of national metered electricity in 2024; national RRF digital component ~EUR 0.3 billion / EUR 312 million; adjusted roadmap measures total EUR 9.24 billion).
• Background and implementation details: The document reviews policy measures and recommendations, noting Ireland’s National Digital & AI Strategy 2030, the Silicon Island semiconductor strategy and new capability actions (e.g. I-C3 competence center, Tyndall participation in EUR 50 million P4Q pilot), and flags timelines and funding commitments (e.g. planned Start-up Ireland, EUR 250m seed/venture programme and EUR 100m SME Scaling Fund; RRF-backed measures ending 2026).