From housing to cybersecurity, NSAI continues to support Irish business through standards and certification

The National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) has published its 2024 Year in Review, highlighting a transformative year of progress in areas critical to Ireland’s future, including housing innovation, digital resilience, and sustainability.

In a year of global uncertainty and rapid advances in areas like cybersecurity, NSAI played a pivotal role in supporting business competitiveness and advancing Ireland’s strategic ambitions under Housing for All, the Climate Action Plan, and the Digital Europe Programme.

Minister of State with responsibility for Employment, Small Business and Retail, Alan Dillon TD said: 

“The NSAI plays a vital role in strengthening Ireland’s business ecosystem. From enabling housing innovation through Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) and Building Information Modelling (BIM) to advancing cybersecurity and sustainability, NSAI’s Year in Review displays how the organisation supports our industries to grow safely, smartly, and compete internationally. The Year in Review reflects the important role NSAI plays in supporting Irish businesses and setting and maintaining world-class standards, measurement services and certification systems.”

In 2024, NSAI advanced key pillars of its Strategic Plan 2022–2026 in the areas of housing, digital transformation, climate and MedTech through standards, metrology and certification that directly support Ireland’s Programme for Government and economic growth.

Geraldine Larkin, NSAI CEO, said:

“NSAI is committed to supporting businesses to enable growth, competitiveness and long-term success. We’re proud to act as a bridge between innovation and assurance, empowering Irish businesses of all sizes to operate with confidence, integrity, and international credibility. Whether it’s bringing a new MMC housing system to market or achieving ISO certification in information security, we ensure companies can move faster, meet expectations, and lead by example.”

Key highlights from the report include:

Supporting housing innovation: With 80 new MMC enquiries and 48 new applications received in 2024, NSAI’s MMC department is supporting faster, safer and more efficient construction outcomes.

NSAI’s Sustainability and Built Environment department approved 1,132 construction products last year and NSAI established a dedicated Building Information Modelling department before Christmas.

Agrément certification is specifically aimed at products or systems that are new or innovative. The KORE group in Cavan, for example, achieved MMC Agrément certification through NSAI for its insulated concrete formwork system and its insulated foundation system.

Caroline Ashe Brady, Commercial Director with the Kore Group said: 

“NSAI’s rigorous assessment process has been crucial in enabling us to bring next-generation construction solutions to market with confidence. MMC Agrément certification helps manufacturers in the construction industry, like ours, to meet both compliance requirements and sustainability goals.”

Cybersecurity at the forefront:  In September 2024, NSAI was appointed lead co-ordinator for the EU TrustBoost programme, aimed at strengthening cybersecurity certification across the EU. With threats to data privacy and digital infrastructure on the rise, this initiative under the Digital Europe Programme is helping to develop new technologies and tools to create a more secure digital ecosystem for Europe. Separately, NSAI developed a new certification readiness tool for Irish SMEs around information security.

Innovation and excellence through standards: As Ireland prepares to take over the presidency of the Council of the EU in July 2026, NSAI continues to take a leading on the role of standards in support of the single market. This is a vital role at national and European level. In 2024:

• 1,467 standards were published
• 286,209 standards were accessed
• 200 new members joined technical committees (there are now over 2,400 national committee members)

Precise measuring for trade: NSAI’s National Metrology Laboratory issued 5, 489 calibration certificates for instruments used by manufacturers and service providers in Ireland such as high voltage probes, sound level meters, hydraulic pressure gauges, tachometers and timers. NSAI’s Legal Metrology Services, which is responsible for upholding and enforcing accuracy and transparency in trade measures, inspected 22,292 trade instruments and visited 6, 212 premises. It also carried out a taximeter verification campaign, following a fare change in 2024.

Also, within the state body, NSAI completed 3,201 audit days for medical device certifications, approved 10,757 automotive products, registered 360 insulation installers and issued 378 new management system certificates. It also launched Europe’s first verified GPS/GNSS data stream service, which is an extension to the National Timing Grid of Ireland.

With a significant global footprint, including NSAI Inc which is based in the US and NSAI Certification UK, NSAI continues to support Irish industry at home and abroad through tailored certification, measurement and standardisation services.

Five Irish SMEs that work closely with NSAI, helped Minister Dillon and NSAI’s CEO, Geraldine Larkin, launch the Year in Review. They were represented by:

• Caroline Ashe Brady of Kore Group in Cavan (certification client and contributor to standards development)
• Siobhán Keogh of PumpWatch in Kildare (works alongside NSAI’s Legal Metrology Service for the calibration of test measures for retail fuel dispensers)
• Thomas Holmes of the Medical Supply Company in Dublin (calibration client and certification client)
• Dr. Zdenek Chaloupka of Timing Solutions in Dublin (collaborator with NSAI’s National Metrology Laboratory)
• Neville Champ of Altherm ICF in Dublin (certification client)

A full copy of the NSAI 2024 Year in Review is available on the NSAI.ie website

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