Ireland’s National Principles on Open Access were published in October 2012. The principles reiterate the right of the freedom of researchers to publish wherever they feel is the most appropriate. Additionally the policy states:

• Peer-reviewed journal articles and other research outputs resulting in whole or in part from publicly-funded research should be deposited in an Open Access repository and made publicly discoverable, accessible and re-usable as soon as possible and on an ongoing basis.
• Every publicly-funded researcher in Ireland shall have deposit rights in an Open Access repository
• Authors shall deposit post-prints (or the publisher’s version if permitted) plus metadata of articles accepted for publication in peer-reviewed journals and international conference proceedings.
• All peer-reviewed journal articles and conference publications should be deposited. Other research outputs including books, book chapters, and reports should be deposited where possible.
• The deposit should be made as soon as possible, ideally at the time of acceptance for publication, and no later than the date of formal publication.
• Metadata shall comprise the full bibliographic and/or descriptive data and should comply with national and international standards and agreements for harvesting, reporting and interoperability.

Ireland’s national principles also encourage researchers to publish in Open Access Journals but clearly states that these papers must also be deposited in a repository. In addition, most Irish funding agencies and some Higher Education Institutions have Open Access policies.

In 2019, Ireland's National Open Research Forum published the National Framework on the Transition to an Open Research Environment. This framework is the first step in the process to create a National Action Plan for the transition to an open research environment in Ireland. This framework details a number of goals in the areas of enabling open access to research publications, enabling FAIR research data, developing infrastructures for access to and preservation of research, building skills and competencies, and creating incentives and rewards. A public consultation process will follow the publication of the framework and will ultimately inform a future National Action Plan.