In 2002, Irakli Beraia joined the private sector as Deputy Director General of Ksilotransi, a subsidiary of a major timber company involved in deforestation activities in the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region.

Until 2004, he worked as the Forest and Raw Material Department head for that same company, at a time when illegal timber was considered a major challenge related to corruption in Georgian public affairs.

He departed from the company in 2004 and after a three-year gap to study in the United Kingdom, he returned to Georgia and became Deputy Director General of Spetsteknikaresursi, an LLC owned by Russian-Georgian businessman Gocha Khelaia.

[8] He ran against six candidates, including incumbent Guram Misabishvili (SFP), Koba Nakopia (UNM), and Senaki Municipal Assembly Chairman Khvicha Jishkariani (FD).

[11] During a major political crisis that followed the failure of that constitutional amendment, Beraia was one of the leading negotiators on behalf of Georgian Dream during talks with the opposition mediated by Western diplomats.

[12] Beraia's term as chairman of the Georgian legislature's foreign policy arm was characterized by controversy over several of his statements regarding Georgia's relations with the United States and the European Union.

He accused the United States Congress of being a target of "contradictory information... as part of destructive steps and deliberate attempt of the radical opposition to affect the country's image abroad," after a series of criticisms by several Congressmen over democratic backsliding in Georgia.

[14] In response to an interview by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in which he praised Georgian Dream, Beraia criticized the previous administration of Mikheil Saakashvili for having started the 2008 Russo-Georgian war.

In October 2022, Beraia claimed holding evidence that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was seeking to start a war between Georgia and the Russian Federation after Ukraine sanctioned several relatives of Bidzina Ivanishvili.

[24] On 31 October 2023, Irakli Beraia made a series of controversial comments during a live parliamentary session against opposition MP Teona Akubardia after the latter criticized the Defense and Security Committee for failing to address the installation of a Russian naval military base in Abkhazia.

Beraia's speech was condemned by civil society and President Salome Zourabichvili, and criticized by Public Defender Levan Ioseliani and fellow Georgian Dream MP Nino Tsilosani.

In February 2022, Irakli Beraia defended the SSSG after a massive leak of domestic intelligence files revealed that the agency had been collecting information on members of the opposition and had been protecting a call service racketeering operation in Georgia.

The SSSG is headed by a patriot, a highly-qualified professional, under the leadership of which the Agency works effectively for the prevention and neutralization of internal and external threats against Georgia, which goes against the agenda of the pests in the opposition.In April 2022, a media investigation by TV Pirveli revealed that Irakli Beraia was one of four Georgian MPs who had spent more than 40,000 GEL on a trip to Argentina.

Beraia claimed the purpose of his visit was to deliver a lecture on Georgian foreign policy in Latin America, but it was eventually shown that the MPs had attended a soccer match in Buenos Aires.