Market Research Companies in Ireland

Key figures for researchers

Population

5,525,600 (April 2026), up 1.2% in a year¹

Dublin

1,597,700 people, 28.9% of the population (April 2026)¹

Aged 65 and over

891,100 people, 16.1% of the population (April 2026)¹

Average age

38.8 years (2022 census)²

Non-Irish citizens

631,785, 12% of the population (2022 census)²

Other home languages

more than 750,000 people speak a language other than English or Irish at home (2022 census)⁵

Irish speakers

1,873,997 can speak Irish (40% of people aged 3+); 71,968 speak it daily outside the education system (2022 census)⁴

Households

1.8 million occupied private households (2022 census)²

Internet users

95% of people aged 16+ used the internet in the last 3 months; 63% of people aged 75+ (2025)⁸

Households with internet

95%, 87% through fixed broadband (2025)⁷

Research guide

Research landscape

Ireland has a compact but well-developed research industry, mainly based in Dublin, where 28.9% of the population lives, with agencies and field teams also in Cork, Galway and Limerick. Full-service agencies work alongside specialist qualitative, B2B, healthcare and social research firms, as well as field, telephone and online panel suppliers.

The industry body is the Association of Irish Market Research Organisations (AIMRO), established in January 1993. Its members are required to operate to a high standard and conform with agreed guidelines and codes.

Languages and fieldwork

English is the fieldwork language for almost all studies. In the 2022 census, 1,873,997 people (40% of those aged three and over) said they could speak Irish, but only 71,968 spoke it daily outside the education system, and 106,220 people lived in the Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking areas). Public sector studies and work in the Gaeltacht can offer an Irish-language version of the questionnaire.

The population is diverse: 631,785 people (12%) were non-Irish citizens in 2022, and 17% in Dublin, with UK citizens (83,347) and Polish citizens among the largest groups. More than 750,000 people spoke a language other than English or Irish at home, mainly Polish, Romanian, French, Spanish and Portuguese. Of these, 11% said they could not speak English well and 2% not at all, so some studies add translations or bilingual interviewers. Regional quotas usually follow the three NUTS 2 regions (Northern and Western, Southern, Eastern and Midland) or the eight NUTS 3 regions such as Dublin, the South-West or the West. Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom: an all-island study covers two countries and two sets of rules.

Which methods work

Connectivity is very high: 95% of people aged 16 and over used the internet in the last three months of the 2025 survey, and 95% of them went online daily; 95% of households have internet access, 87% through fixed broadband. Online surveys using access panels are widely used for consumer research, and video interviews and online communities for qualitative work.

Older people are less well covered: 63% of people aged 75 and over used the internet in 2025, and 891,100 people (16.1%) are 65 or over. Telephone (CATI) and face-to-face interviews remain used for older and offline audiences, rural areas, B2B decision makers and public sector studies. In-person focus groups are usually held in viewing facilities, mainly in Dublin.

Timing

Christmas is a period to avoid: schools close from 22 December 2026 to 6 January 2027, and business respondents are hard to reach. Ireland has ten public holidays, including St Brigid’s Day (the first Monday in February, or 1 February when it falls on a Friday; 1 February in 2027), St Patrick’s Day (17 March), Easter Monday, the first Mondays of May, June and August, the last Monday of October, Christmas Day and St Stephen’s Day. Good Friday is a normal working day.

School breaks also affect family and parent targets: February mid-term (15 to 19 February 2027 for post-primary schools), Easter (19 March to 5 April 2027) and the long summer break: the school year ends in late June, and post-primary schools close by the Friday before the June bank holiday. Allow more fieldwork time from June to August.

Data protection

Personal data is governed by the GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, in force since 25 May 2018, supervised by the Data Protection Commission (DPC). The DPC also acts as lead supervisory authority in the EU for companies whose main EU establishment is in Ireland. The digital age of consent is 16: for online services, children under 16 need a parent’s or guardian’s consent.

Under the ePrivacy Regulations 2011, marketing emails and SMS generally need prior consent, and direct marketing calls to mobile phones need prior consent too. These rules cover marketing: a genuine research interview must not be used to sell. Ask your agency how respondents are informed, where the data is hosted and how recordings or video from qualitative work will be shared with you.

Working with a local agency

• Share a clear brief: objectives, target, sample size, regions, method, languages and deadline.
• Say whether you need an Irish-language version or translations for migrant communities, and who will check them.
• Ask whether the agency is an AIMRO member or follows the ICC/ESOMAR Code.
• Ask which panels or fieldwork suppliers will be used, how regional quotas are set, and how fraud and duplicates are removed.
• Agree in writing who is controller and who is processor of the personal data, and the retention period.
• Compare several proposals: you can send one request to up to 5 companies from this page.