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Ireland’s CEOs are seeing challenges split by scale, with larger firms absorbing pressure in systems and others feeling it in day-to-day decision making.
In brief
The CEOs of Ireland's largest enterprises have a clear understanding of the conditions they are operating in. Geopolitical tension, economic uncertainty, and disruption are operating realities — not future risks. Confidence in global and domestic conditions has cooled, but confidence in their own organisations is holding, grounded in how they are executing and investing right now.
But this is one cohort, with one vantage point.
This year's survey tells a story of two halves. What is true for Ireland's largest enterprises is not true for all. Smaller and mid-sized organisations are experiencing a different reality — shaped by different pressures, different resources, and different degrees of exposure.
To capture that contrast, we set the survey data alongside direct testimony from companies of all sizes across Ireland. Sentiment and lived experience, read together.
What we see in this survey is absolutely replicated in the conversations we have with our multinational clients, but it isn’t true for all companies in Ireland. What we hear beyond the largest organisations is a wider spread of experience, from firms trading steadily to others dealing with day to day disruption. The sector and market dynamics depend very much on where a company is standing.
Simon MacAllister
Partner, Co-Head of Geopolitical Strategy EY Ireland
Chapter 1
CEOs navigate a more complex geopolitical landscape, balancing risk with supply chain resilience and investment decisions.
Ireland’s larger company CEOs report slightly lower confidence in the economic environment in May than at the start of the year. The share of optimistic responses on both the domestic and global economic outlook has reduced, but for this group of CEOs overall confidence remains net positive. This positivity is sustained by scale, operational maturity, and the ability to absorb volatility without immediate disruption.
However, this confidence isn’t across the board and appears to be unevenly distributed among the Irish business base.
Unsurprisingly, companies with greater resources are insulated, and while no one is immune, there are measures in place to deal with persistent external pressures. Buffers exist across balance sheets, supplier structures, and internal capacity.
For companies with less resources across manpower, time and cash in reserve, pressure hits harder. Constraints compress decision‑making and reduce room for manoeuvre.
Reactive instead of the preferable proactive is the position some companies have found themselves in following the latest round of global conflict. For some, short‑term response is increasingly competing with longer‑term plans.
The flow of capital, the fundamental enabler of growth across Ireland’s financial services sector, is increasingly being shaped by volatility and geopolitical developments. These forces are influencing lending, liquidity and investment decisions more directly and more frequently. For institutions operating from Ireland, this places a premium on agility, resilience and the ability to respond at pace. While the environment is more complex, it also reinforces Ireland’s role as a stable, globally connected hub for financial services.
Colin Ryan
EY Ireland Financial Services Leader
Macroeconomic volatility, geopolitical tensions and disruption across trade and supply networks are all identified as significant risks in the survey.
This is probably true across almost all organisations. The level of risk is what’s different. Exposure varies materially by scale, sector, and operating model.
If I’m talking to a large indigenous company or a multinational, which has diversified suppliers, regional buffers, and access to internal expertise across finance, legal, and procurement, they have a good base from which to manage the volatility. When I’m talking to a smaller or more local business it’s a different story. They lack the scale of management capacity to find the time to actively manage these issues, or struggle with the level of working capital or technology to be able to address issues or take advantage of opportunities.
Simon MacAllister
Partner, Co-Head of Geopolitical Strategy EY Ireland
Key takeaway: Business leaders are in a more demanding environment where global disruption is part of everyday decision‑making. Decision load has increased at every level of leadership.
Scale and buffers matter. For many companies, uncertainty is showing up directly in costs, supply commitments, staffing questions, and cash oversight, often with little notice. These pressures are experienced first in operations, then in strategy.
Chapter 2
AI is moving into execution, reshaping operations, productivity and how organisations build advantage.
The CEOs surveyed continue to report net positive confidence in their own companies’ outlook over the next 12 months. In May 2026, 92% of respondents report optimism about both revenue growth and about maintaining competitive position.
This is not going to be the case for companies one step down in scale and size. Scale shapes exposure as well as outlook.
What we hear from the market suggests SMEs in Ireland are somewhat less optimistic at the moment than multinationals. These leaders are more focused on keeping income steady, reducing costs, looking after staff, and staying connected to customers.
Colette Devey
EY Ireland Partner Risk Consulting, Chief Risk Officer and Consumer Products, Retail and Agriculture Sector Leader
CEOs of Ireland’s larger companies continue to express belief in their organisations’ ability to deliver through discipline, targeted investment and operational focus, with pessimistic responses remaining limited. Confidence is strongest where execution models are stable and investment horizons are protected.
Key takeaway: Leaders feel confident when they can see a clear line from decision to result.
For many larger companies, disciplined investment and operational focus continue to support continuity in performance, even as external conditions remain volatile. Confidence across the broader business community is typically reflective of closer management, shorter horizons, and careful prioritisation.
Chapter 3
Capital allocation reflects greater discipline, with a focus on resilience, returns and longer-term investment priorities.
Geopolitics are now a core business condition, influencing costs, capital, technology and growth at the same time. This is a shared worry across companies regardless of size or scale. The difference is how prepared companies are and who has contingency plans in place.
Geopolitical developments are still affecting how companies operate across trade, cyber risk, conflict and energy., Uncertainty is now the norm and the companies that stay resilient and factor these risks into their plans are the ones building the future with confidence.
Aidan Meagher
Co-Head of Geopolitical Strategy. EY Ireland Tax Partner and Life Sciences Tax and Law Lead
Geopolitics and conflict appear prominently among the risks Irish CEOs expect to manage. Geopolitical tensions, instability and conflicts are cited by 70% of our surveyed CEOs as a first or second‑priority risk to their business over the next 12 months. From our client conversations we would expect this number to be matched if not exceeded by companies beyond multinationals.
Energy supply brings concrete geopolitical exposure for almost all Irish businesses, linking global instability directly to local operating conditions and investment decisions.
We are hearing directly from companies whose expansion plans have been negatively impacted because power availability can no longer be assumed. Management teams are discussing grid access, exposure to European energy volatility and price stability in the same forums as supply chains and market access. For these businesses, geopolitics is influencing day to day operational decisions and near term investment choices.
Megan Conway
EY Ireland Consulting Partner and Consulting Markets Leader
Strategic responses reflect these realities. The CEOs in the EY survey point to balance‑sheet strength, financial discipline, selective adjustments to operating footprints and deeper partnerships as tools for maintaining continuity. Portfolio decisions increasingly include geopolitical and regulatory exposure as part of broader risk considerations and resilience in now a factor in forward planning.
We know the elements required for strategic responses are not accessible to the same degree for all companies. Depending on the scale, life cycle and even nature of the industry, stand-alone balance sheet strength isn’t always enough for companies attempting to develop strategic responses to geopolitical shocks.
Robert Henson
EY Ireland Tax Partner
Key takeaway: Leaders feel confident when they can see a clear line from decision to result.
For many larger companies, disciplined investment and operational focus continue to support continuity in performance, even as external conditions remain volatile. Confidence across the broader business community is typically reflective of closer management, shorter horizons, and careful prioritisation.
Chapter 4
Skills shortages and shifting expectations are driving a more deliberate approach to talent, productivity and workforce planning.
We are now seeing our clients really starting to scale their AI investments and move away from pilots - they realise that "bolting on" AI to existing processes won't necessarily unlock the efficiencies and would deliver true transformation. Clients that are succeeding are building AI into the core of how work gets performed in the organisation, not just improving the old way of doing things but unlocking new capabilities such as better research, better decision intelligence and better prediction.
Eoin O'Reilly
EY Ireland Partner, Head of AI & Data
Technology investment remains active, with AI to the fore. In May 2026, 84% of surveyed Irish CEOs report increased AI investment compared with 2025.
This is now showing up as measurable impact. CEOs report enterprise‑level results from AI most often in core operations (58%), strategy and decision making (44%), and product or service innovation (44%). Measurement practices are tightening, with 68% using standard metrics to measure AI impact across major projects.
Regulatory considerations feature prominently in Irish CEOs’ views on AI. In May 2026, 42% say current AI regulatory frameworks are fragmented or still evolving, while a further 26% say it increase compliance requirements and operational complexity.
Chapter 5
Climate commitments remain in place, though progress is shaped by cost pressures and energy security concerns.
Irish CEOs expect role redesign that combines human and AI capability, with continued hiring for digital and data roles, and strong investment in reskilling existing employees. Skills availability defines the main obstacle. 38% of CEOs identify ‘cultural resistance to change’ as the primary barrier to deriving value from AI. However, 60% see large scale reskilling and upskilling of existing employees with AI as the main impact to workforce strategy over the next three years.
Confidence in attracting and retaining talent has softened since January, adding urgency to capability development, training infrastructure and workforce planning.
For the range of companies not covered in the survey, Talent and AI challenges don’t seem to land in the same way.
Across organisations of all sizes, we’re seeing a deliberate blend of human and AI capability to drive future value. What distinguishes smaller and mid-sized organisations is the level of precision: every role is being assessed for the value it creates. Smaller companies experience talent and skills at human scale: one hire, one departure, or one new tool can reshape daily work. They want to make sure they have the right roles and talent for the future, but learning is mainly happening on the job, investment is closely tied to cash and delivery, and confidence depends on keeping their people supported, clear on expectations, and able to keep the business moving’
Laura Flynn
EY Ireland Partner Head of People Consulting
Chapter 6
Growth expectations remain steady, with CEOs confident but selective in where they deploy capital.
When considering acquisitions or divestments over the next 12 months, Irish CEOs in the EY Survey most frequently prioritise strategic fit with long term priorities (64%), ability to enhance technology or AI capabilities (62%), and margin profile and return on investment (34%). Cost or revenue synergies (28%) and exposure to geopolitical or regulatory risk also feature (18%). Capital is being deployed with a strong emphasis on resilience and future positioning.
While all survey participants expressed an appetite to pursue various transaction initiatives, we expect this activity to be undertaken in a measured and disciplined manner, with a clear focus on strong underlying business fundamentals and carefully selected strategic opportunities. At the same time, ongoing geopolitical uncertainty continues to shape and inform decision-making.
The impact of Geopolitical events continues to affect daily decision making for businesses.. Leaders are simultaneously managing the consequences of conflict economic uncertainty, and technological change. For Ireland's open economy, all of these factors are quickly experienced by Irish businesses. The organisations who recognise that resilience is a competitive advantage are investing in energy security, supply chain integrity, and trusted technology partnerships.
Carol Murphy
EY Ireland Head of Markets and Consulting Partner
The May 2026 survey and anecdotal evidence points to Irish CEOs operating with intent. External conditions are demanding, from economic uncertainty and geopolitics to regulatory complexity and talent pressures. AI adoption is taking hold and leaders are concentrating on clarity of purpose and practical delivery. Regardless of company size, CEOs are focussing on what’s within their control to sustain performance and position their organisations for the future.
CEO action agenda:
Summary
Ireland’s CEOs are facing a common set of pressures, with outcomes shaped by scale. In larger organisations, confidence holds, supported by resources, buffers and disciplined execution. Across the rest of the market, those same pressures land faster in day-to-day decisions on cost, supply, staffing and cash. AI is beginning to deliver results, while geopolitics and capital discipline continue to frame how leaders respond.
