June 2025: Ireland’s AI Readiness Gap

Executive Summary

Artificial intelligence has entered the national conversation. But for most people in Ireland, it hasn’t yet entered their day-to-day lives. Or their work.

In May 2025, a nationally representative survey conducted by Amárach Research and Karen Howley found that:

• 57% of Irish adults are not using AI at all - neither at work nor at home

• AI use is much higher (72%) among those aged 18-25 compared with older demographics

• Only 33% of full-time employees are using it at work

• Just 10% of AI users have received any formal training

That’s not an awareness problem. It’s a readiness gap.

The people using AI today aren’t necessarily more interested - they’re more enabled. They’ve had access to the right tools, the space to experiment, or the support to build confidence. Everyone else is still on the sidelines — not because they’re resistant, but because they’re unsure where AI fits in.