ESRI Newsletter December 2025

December 18, 2025

Dear Reader,

December is a busy month for most organisations, and the ESRI is no exception. This month, we published research across a wide range of topics.

Our medium-term Economic Outlook garnered significant attention. The report examines the risks and opportunities facing Ireland’s economy over the next decade. While such projections are inevitably shrouded in uncertainty, the analysis highlights the importance of policy interventions now, particularly investments in education, public infrastructure, and research and development, to mitigate risks and place Ireland in a strong position to take advantage of opportunities.

Also on economic matters, Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris launched the latest ESRI and Shared Island report, Assessing economic trends in Ireland and Northern Ireland. This marks the start of an annual series tracking economic developments across both jurisdictions. Our aim is to assess how the two economies evolve and how policy is influencing those evolutions, always with a view to informing policy.

Turning to migration, the European Migration Network (EMN) Ireland, based at the ESRI, published its Asylum and migration overview 2024. This comprehensive report gives an overview of the entire migration landscape in Ireland. While some pressures on the system eased in 2024, other challenges persisted, especially in the international protection processing and accommodation system.

As this marks our final newsletter of 2025, I want to acknowledge the work and commitment of my colleagues. This year, we published 168 reports and papers on our website and organised 20 public events and conferences. This work was made possible through the support of the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, our wider network of funders, Whitaker Patrons and Corporate Members.

I hope we continue to work together, building on our mission to produce independent, high-quality research that informs policies that, in turn, support a healthy economy and promote social progress.

Wishing you a relaxing Christmas.

Regards,