The Irish Tech Industry in 2023

The tech industry in Ireland has established itself as one of the most dynamic and growing sectors over the last few years and will continue to grow this year, despite recent reports of cuts to the workforce.

High demand for tech talent

While the growth in the industry may be slower in 2023 than over the past number of years, there remains a high demand for tech talent in Ireland.

Highest average earnings

The number of people employed in Ireland’s digital sector has been estimated at 270,000. Employees in the ICT (Information & Communications Technology) sector have the highest average earnings in the country, receiving €8.5 billion in wages in 2019, according to data released earlier this year by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

A lot of opportunities

Responding to the recent news that some tech companies are reducing costs and employee numbers, Mary Buckley, interim CEO of IDA Ireland said, “I think it’s also safe to say that while it’s a very tough time for people at the moment to receive this bad news, there are a lot of opportunities in the tech sector at the moment.”

Despite the recent downsizing in certain tech companies in Ireland, many are confident that the skilled workforce within the sector affected by the cuts will be able to successfully find alternative employment or other opportunities.

Added to this is the fact that Ireland has a strong indigenous tech sector where workers who have been laid off are often able to find a new job.

New investments

In November 2022, the then Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar, reiterated his confidence in the tech sector stating that despite the cuts impacting the tech sector in Ireland, there is “high demand” for tech skills across all sectors. “There is a strong pipeline of new investments from overseas and within Ireland in a range of sectors including tech and in other sectors and we expect many positive announcements in the coming months,” he added.

Technology skills

The number one area that companies are expecting to grow in 2023 is in technology, which could provide some hope to the tech workforce. Technology skills are in huge demand across all industries as they continue to adopt digital ways of doing business and it would seem that those skilled tech workers impacted by the recent cuts have been and will continue to be re-absorbed into the economy and quickly acquire new roles.

Positive momentum

Director of Technology Ireland, Una Fitzpatrick, also sees a positive momentum in the sector saying that “Companies who unfortunately had redundancies just a couple of months ago are also now looking at new hires and new areas of the business for investment. There’s a huge need for a specialised skills base, for example: AI.”

Over the worst

Earlier this month, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Simon Coveney, said that he believes Ireland is “over the worst” of the job cuts in the tech sector. And The Irish Times referred to the recent challenges the industry has faced as “a hiccup rather than the start of a terminal decline, with the cost cutting measures driven by shareholders and market reaction.”

A new growth phase

In 2023, Ireland will continue to remain at the heart of the technology industry in Europe and is determined to thrive across a diverse range of different types of companies offering a variety of roles to the tech workforce and set out on a new growth phase for the year ahead.

Upcoming Careers Fairs

• Jobs Expo Dublin (22nd April at Croke Park)
• Jobs Expo Cork (20th May at Cork City Hall)
• Jobs Expo Limerick (10th June at Thomond Park)
• Tech Careers Fair (13th July. Online at Virtual Recruitment Ireland)