Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I would like a debate with the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Simon Coveney, on the sweeping global layoffs in the tech industry, what measures can be taken to reduce the impact of such on Ireland and, more broadly, how we can address the structural vulnerability of the economy on account of its reliance on a small number of large firms. Recent research carried out by the Central Bank has revealed job losses of 2,300 in the tech sector. A whopping 18,000 people are employed by Amazon in this country, which has announced global staff layoffs for the first time in years. The presence of tech companies in Ireland has been much discussed over the past three years, and for good reason. They contribute a substantial amount of the State's corporate tax receipts and the sector employs more than 164,000 people in Ireland, a figure which has increased by 29% since 2019.

Globally, the increase in layoffs from the tech sector between 2021 and 2022 amounted to 649%, according to a report from American global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. This level of workforce downsizing has not been seen in the tech sector since the dotcom bubble in the late 1990s and the trend is set to continue into 2023. Given the tech industry's oversized presence in Ireland and its integral position in our economy, we must assume that we will feel the effect of this more than other countries. This is not the first time we have heard from financial bodies that our reliance on large-scale multinational tech corporations makes our economy disproportionately vulnerable to any form of downturn in the sector. Efforts should be made by the Government to address this and plan for such eventualities. I ask that the Minister come to the Chamber and we decide how best to go about this.