Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 12 October 2023
106. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the extent to which he continues to liaise with the tech industries in order to minimise any negative impact due to worldwide downturns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44578/23]
View answerThe tech sector plays a pivotal role to the Irish economy, with 320 IDA client companies in the sector employing over 64,000 people. I regularly engage with tech companies through my own office and through officials in my Department and our agencies.
IDA Ireland has strong engagement with its technology client base to actively support clients through new mandates, expansions, sustainability and digital transformation initiatives and to offer support when companies are downsizing.
Where IDA client companies are reducing headcount through redundancies, IDA Ireland works with those companies to understand if targeted training support could be an assistance in training and retaining impacted teams, thus mitigating losses, through the use of skills diagnostic tools and training support programmes.
There has been modest contraction for some tech clients over the past 12 months. In most cases, the level of job losses has been consistent with, or less than, the level layoffs implemented elsewhere in their global organisations. Where IDA Ireland’s multinational clients have announced global job reductions, the reduction has typically been less than 10% of total global workforces. A very small number have implemented more significant layoffs while many companies have stalled hiring outside of key roles. In all cases, Government looks to prioritise supporting the individual affected in the first instance, while also, of course, engaging with the individual enterprises.
IDA Ireland continues to see a flow of business and in the last year has announced several new investments in microelectronics and semiconductors, in cloud computing, and in data storage. It is important to note that technology company commitment to Ireland remains exceptionally strong and Ireland remains an attractive location of choice for companies. Key investments of scale recently announced include, for example, from ADI, Intel and AMD.
