Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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In February I met with several IDA Ireland companies, including clients in the technology sector, based on the US West Coast. The visit was an opportunity to meet with enterprise leaders and highlight Ireland’s value as a location for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The discussions covered a range of topics, including Ireland’s commitment to FDI and discussion of clients’ operations in Ireland, in addition to contractions in the technology sector and plans for the future.

As well as engaging with and hearing from enterprise leaders, I highlighted Ireland’s continuing strong FDI value proposition. Ireland continues to be a location of choice for new investors and long-established companies who choose to reinvest in substantial expansions of their operations here. IDA Ireland’s record 2022 results demonstrate not only the resilience of the FDI sector in Ireland, but also Ireland’s stable and attractive business environment which enables global companies to successfully scale and grow within Ireland.

Where job losses in the technology sector have occurred, in most cases they have been between 5 and 15% of total workforces, consistent with layoffs implemented elsewhere in their global organisations. A very small number have implemented more significant layoffs while many companies have stalled hiring outside of key roles. I cannot, of course, guarantee that there will not be further such announcements.

Technology is now pervasive in all business sectors and the need for tech skills across the entire industrial base remains strong. In many cases, the impacted skills are highly transferable. In this regard, it is important to note that the demand for engineering skills in particular, such as computer science, cyber security and electronic engineering qualified talent, continues to outstrip supply. These careers will continue to be in high demand well into the future and offer an excellent career choice for students considering future study options.

My Department will continue to work alongside IDA Ireland to strengthen Ireland’s business environment and our FDI value proposition. The White Paper on Enterprise recently published by my Department sets the strategic direction for job-creation and growth for the years ahead, addressing changes in the international trading environment and vulnerabilities in our enterprise sector. At Government level we are focused on competitiveness and ensuring that Ireland is the best place in Europe to invest and grow for the future. We are acting on energy, skills, housing, access to water services, and planning, all important issues for the success of the tech sector in Ireland.