Ireland to digitize 100% of key digital public services by 2030

Ireland’s seventh place ranking in the OECD’s 2025 Digital Government Index (DGI) reflects a well-established reputation as a digital hub, and a strong commitment to its National Digital and AI Strategy and Digital Public Services Plan 2030.

As outlined in government documents, the Digital Public Services Plan 2030 outlines five “strategic and mutually reinforcing ambitions.” These are to Apply, Grow, Invest, Lead, and Empower. The intention is to design an agile approach that supports competitiveness and innovation while protecting data privacy and human rights.

The plan defines 20 high-level Objectives and 90 Deliverables. Priority aims include making 100 percent of key public services in Ireland available online by 2030, and ensuring that 90 percent of applicable services are accessed digitally.

It makes use of a unique structural model, based on major life milestones. The Life Events Approach “reimagines public services around the real-life moments that matter to people, such as starting school, becoming a parent, accessing housing, or the birth of a child. This approach ensures that services are designed to be intuitive, proactive and integrated, reducing complexity and improving access for all.”

Key services are to be grouped around life events. Per the Plan, the approach is grounded in the OECD Recommendation on Human-Centred Public Administrative Services, which urges governments to “design services around people’s needs and Life Events, rather than institutional silos.

The Irish government says it reflects a commitment to delivering services that are “joined-up by design, digitally enabled, and inclusive by default.”

Under the National Digital and AI Strategy, “Digital Ireland – Connecting our People, Securing our Future,” Ireland will gain a new AI Advisory Unit for the public service, a National AI Fellowship programme for the public sector, a new GovTech 2026 Challenge, implementation of an AI for healthcare program, and “a new targeted sectoral strategy to drive AI adoption across the enterprise base.”

The strategy also includes plans for a new AI and digital literacy campaign for SMEs, a new internationally leading AI Research Centre of scale to be established by Research Ireland, an accompanying “AI in Research transformation program,” and a new government agency, the AI Office of Ireland, to coordinate the EU AI Act and a new AI Regulatory Sandbox.

An International AI and Digital Summit will serve as a flagship event for Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the EU.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin says the roadmap “sets out how we will reinforce Ireland’s position as a digital leader and regulatory hub, strengthening our profile as a location for investment and a global hub for Applied AI.”

High level of trust opens door for big plans

National data shows that close to eight in 10 people now use a digital ID to access essential services in Ireland, mainly eID such as MyGovID. That level of comfort and trust is reflected in the scope of the government’s strategy.

“We want all areas of the economy and society to benefit from digital and AI technologies – helping businesses to grow, improving our public services and ensuring everyone has the skills to succeed in a digital and AI-driven economy and society,” says the Taoiseach.

Online safety also gets a shout-out: the strategy promises to “ensure our Online Safety Framework is sufficiently robust to deal with emerging challenges and risks, including by adequately resourcing regulators and progressing enhancements to the EU Online Safety Framework.” It also makes explicit the intention to “explore options to introduce age restrictions on the use of social media concentrating, in particular, on those under sixteen years of age.”

Article Topics

digital government  |  digital ID  |  digital inclusion  |  e-ID  |  government services  |  Ireland  |  myGovID