Espicom's in-depth medical device market reports are ideal for executives wanting to understand the key drivers in medical markets and have access to a wealth of statistical data. Each report opens with an outlook section that provides analysis of the market, 5-year market forecasts, national data projections, market outlook and key developments such as regulation, health facilities and government policy. The report also provides extensive background information, population trends, health status, health expenditure, organisation & administration, hospital services, medical personnel, healthcare development, market access information, trade data and essential industry contacts. Included with the report are 3 free quarterly updated outlook reports, enabling you to keep up to date with market developments for a year. As a member of the EU, Ireland is bound by EU laws regarding the regulation of medical equipment and supplies. The Department of Health and Children is Ireland's competent authority, with the National Standards Authority of Ireland being the sole notified body. Ireland remains an attractive location for manufacturing, with 13 of the world's top 25 medical device companies having manufacturing plants there. Coupled with this, over 40% of employees within the medical device industry have a tertiary qualification. Many multinational medical device companies consider Ireland as providing a ‘stepping-stone' into the European Union. The manufacture of medical devices accounts for 10% of Ireland's total manufacturing workforce. Although Ireland has an established healthcare system and the government actively encourages investment; the presence of large multinational manufacturing facilities make an accurate assessment of the domestic market problematic.

The Irish medical market is predominantly centred in Dublin and Cork, which together account for around one third of the total population. Dublin is an obvious starting point when approaching the market, although Limerick is a good location for distributing to the Western parts of the country, due to its proximity to Shannon airport, which is the principal stop for transatlantic air traffic and Ireland's only free trade zone. Agents and distributors are the main channels of distribution for the Irish medical market, and the compact nature of the market means that one agent can service the whole country. Whilst there are over 100 distributors serving the market, a handful of large companies dominate. Several of the larger multinationals based in Ireland have also started to sell their products direct to end-users.

Although the medical device market in Ireland is continuing to expand, the small population will not be able to provide an environment for spectacular growth. This also means that occurrences of large capital expenditure on medical equipment are infrequent.

Due to the continuing strength of the euro, imports from outside of the EU will continue to be seen as ‘less expensive' than EU produced devices. The strength of the euro and the recent devaluation of the US Dollar pose a threat to the Irish medical device markets as US companies with manufacturing facilities in Ireland may look to move the operations overseas, as Ireland is becoming more expensive than the US for manufacturing.