Ms Martina Fitzgerald:

The recruitment and retention of staff has remained the second-biggest issue for our startups year on year, although there have been implications for the wider tech sector, which implications we have seen. Some 35 of our startups are finding it more difficult to recruit and retain staff. They are not just competing against bigger companies here, although the trend in this regard has eased off, unfortunately due to job losses, but they are also competing against staff in other jurisdictions who have more favourable conditions. Those conditions can pertain to a residents share option scheme. It can be a matter of the tax they are liable for. They are competing not just in Ireland against big companies but, to be quite honest and blunt about it, they are also competing against jurisdictions all across the world with different tax treatments. That is why we are trying to consider the KEEP share option scheme as a means of helping the SMEs to recruit and retain staff and also give the workers a share in the companies that could go on to great success. In a way, it is like "workers rights 2023", but there are difficulties with the scheme in that, according to the Commission on Taxation and Welfare, only 50-odd companies have availed of it. At our recent regional startup summit, we found that Aerogen, the biggest Irish medtech company in Ireland, which was set up over a butcher's shop in Galway 25 years ago, employs hundreds and is still growing a new market, is finding it difficult to recruit and retain staff. That is a difficulty, just as it is in the cyber element of our sector.

There are difficulties in various specialties. There are also some companies letting staff off and we do realise this and we have put this on the record. We agree there need to be some changes to the KEEP share option scheme and the extension of it to build on the changes that have already been made. An example is removing the link to salary. If a company cannot compete on salary in the first place why would we link the scheme to the salary of an individual? Some companies cannot compete with what other companies are offering with regard to salary or benefits. With regard to keeping the scheme simple and clear, market valuation is very difficult to work out but it is critical. Some types of companies are excluded, such as financial and insurance technological companies. They are also competing for staff. There are many layers to the issue of the retention and recruitment scheme. We have also come up with a tax credit approach to helping some of those who have lost their jobs in the wider sector.