merrion street

“Today senior IDA and Enterprise Ireland staff briefed me and Ministers of State Damien English and Dara Calleary on the current situation in the global tech sector.

This followed a series of direct contacts by my office and the agencies with the companies involved.

My main concern is for the staff and their families who will be affected by down-sizing in certain tech companies with a presence in Ireland. No company has given any indication that it is considering closing its Irish base.  We will assist any employees affected as they seek alternative employment or other opportunities.

As a country we are close to full employment, with high demand for tech, marketing and other 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. The economy is well diversified, with hundreds of thousands of people employed by indigenous SMEs, pharmaceuticals, agri-food, med-tech, and financial services.

We have ongoing engagement with major tech employers through the IDA and Enterprise Ireland, and the Government has asked the agencies to intensify this engagement.

There are well-established statutory processes to protect employees, and we are confident that all national employment rights requirements for consultation and notification of redundancies will be adhered to once decisions on any reductions in employment are made. I have asked for officials in the Department and of Enterprise, the IDA and Enterprise Ireland to keep me informed of any developments.

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. 

We have never taken our economic prosperity for granted. In just over a month we will publish a White Paper on Enterprise which will set the strategic direction for job-creation and growth for the years ahead.”