Dublin Silicon start-up hub could create 2,800 jobs

Dublin could create 2,800 jobs by becoming the start-up destination of choice, according to a Dublin City Council report which estimated it could add €200m a year to the economy.

The Activating Dublin report said Ireland already had a head start on other European cities due to the ‘Silicon Dock’ grouped around the Google headquarters.

Dublin is home to a thriving start-up ecosystem that has the potential to grow even further. Amongst the strengths highlighted in the report were that three of Europe’s top eight start-up accelerators were in Dublin.

The chair of the group, made up of Dublin City Council and Dublin Chamber of Commerce, secretary general of the Department of Finance, John Moran, said the sector is unrivalled in its potential to grow and create jobs.

“The report confirms the huge potential in the tech start-up community. The energy and excitement of the people working in this sector is unrivalled internationally. The key is not to try to take control from them,” he said.

In the US, which has the world’s leading start-up culture, companies that are less than five years old created 44m jobs over the last three decades and accounted for all new jobs created in the US over that period.

In 2007 alone 8m of the 12m new jobs were from young firms — if Ireland were to create the equivalent level of job creation that would be 630,000 jobs.

One of the key steps is helping start-ups find the services they need so they can focus on starting and growing their businesses.

The report also suggests the potential to be an international hub for tech start-ups lies in making it easier for international entrepreneurs to locate in Dublin, citing research from Silicon Valley that immigrants founded 52.4% of the start-ups from 1995- 2005.