Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 23 November 2022
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation
Challenges Facing the Technology Sector: Discussion
Mr. Donal Travers:
On the original question, the principles of how we engage with companies are the same whether dealing with a hardware, software or services company. When we are having discussions with client companies about onboarding and helping them to scale, we tell them that, from an Irish perspective, our role as a Stage agency is to build a partnership over their business's lifetime here. It is not transactional. The principles are the same whether it is a semiconductor company or a technology platform or services company. What is different between the two is the complexity of the relationship. In the case of a large hardware company that has invested billions of euros in Ireland, the complexities involved in those conversations can be different and broader. For a platform or digital services company, the complexities can be on the regulatory side that Ms Fitzpatrick and Mr. O'Donovan have spoken about. The principles are the very same, however.