Irish firms outspend EU rivals on R&D

Irish-based firms are streets ahead of competitors in terms of research and development, according to a new report that indicates firms based here invested more than five times the EU average last year.

The EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard, published annually by the European Commission, shows that at 13.6% of total expenditure, the Irish-based firms surveyed spent multiples of their global counterparts’ R&D budgets.

At 2.6%, the EU average is less than a fifth of Irish R&D expenditure, while the global average stands at 4.9%.