Irish University Study Calls For Government Action To Promote Blockchain In The Country

The authors of a study at the National University of Ireland (NUI) Galway on the adoption of blockchain in Ireland, called on the government to promote the technology more broadly in the country, The Irish Times reported May 11.

The study proposes recommendations to increase blockchain awareness and adoption, that can reportedly have a positive impact on economic growth and establish a basis for how the government and Irish organizations carry out business.

Dr. Trevor Clohessy at NUI Galway, who led the research, called for government action to promote blockchain in Ireland through the development of a national initiative:

“...Beyond business, other beneficial uses of this technology would be in voting machines and ballot boxes to address electoral fraud and potentially looking at a blockchain enabled technology-controlled border identification system that could provide a possible solution to the current North/South Brexit border challenges.”

The study entitled “The adoption of Blockchain in Ireland: Examining the influence of organisational factors” was conducted by NUI Galway in partnership with the Blockchain Association of Ireland. The study examines factors that influence Irish companies in their decisions to adopt blockchain. The key findings show that only 40 percent of enterprises in Ireland have embraced the technology, which is a relatively low rate according to the researchers.

The study found that top factors affecting blockchain adoption were support from top management, organizational readiness, legislative uncertainty, and a lack of business cases and in-house expertise.

Ireland is 13th on the Bloomberg 2018 Innovation Index, with high scores in productivity and manufacturing value-added, and has advanced IT infrastructure. In recent years, Ireland has branded itself as a hub for fintech and blockchain business, touting a low corporate tax rate of 12.5 percent with a double taxation treaty network with 72 countries.

In a similar study polling financial executives globally, the Financial Executives Research Foundation found that 30 percent of financial executives “plan to commit resources to blockchain within the next year and a half...”

Last month, financial services provider Mastercard announced it will hire a wide range of professionals such as software engineers, data scientists, information security experts, and blockchain specialists in Dublin to boost innovation in the field of payments.