IT investment continues to be strong in Ireland - report

The Ernst & Young / Dow Jones VentureOne Quarterly European Venture Capital Report for the last quarter of 2005 has shown that over €30m in venture capital was invested in Ireland.

This figure is significantly higher than the amount invested in in the previous quarter, €21.9m, or the last quarter of 2004, €20.17m.

In 2005, the total figure invested in Ireland for 2005 was €124.35m, a 13% increase from the year before, which stood at €109.72m.

Garry O’Rourke, senior manager, Ernst & Young Ireland said that the figures for the last quarter of 2005 are significantly reliant on a small number of large deals.

"As the Irish market is quite small, venture capital figures should be viewed in a yearly or longer term, rather than on a quarterly basis, to assess trends. 2005 was a steady year for investment in the Irish market, with the overall amount invested showing an increase in comparison to 2004 and 2003.

"IT continues to be a strong performing area for Ireland, in contrast with its decline across Europe," he added.

In Europe, the UK remains the most active country, but deals were down 9% and capital was down 11% to €1.04bn.

Ireland was twelfth in the number of deals, equal with Spain and behind the Netherlands and Norway. By the amount raised, Ireland was in tenth place.