Irish tech firms in better shape than multinationals, says Leo Clancy

Comments made at Enterprise Ireland’s end-of-year results which showed net jobs increased by 5% with 10,841 created in 2022 among Enterprise Ireland clients

Enterprise Ireland chairman Terence O’Rourke, Enterprise Minister Simon Coveney, head of strategy of version 1 Louise Lahiff, and Enterprise Ireland CEO Leo Clancy announcing the creation of 19,660 new jobs by Enterprise Ireland client companies in 2022. The jobs growth translates into a net increase of 10,841 jobs created last year. Picture: Maxwells

Small emerging tech companies in Ireland are in better shape than multinational firms amid a tech slowdown, said CEO of Enterprise Ireland Leo Clancy.

“I think a lot of Irish companies, particularly small companies, took a look at the emerging situation and spoke to their investors,” said Mr Clancy.

“They took decisions to slow hiring then to conserve their capital to look at their financial roadmaps. So I think they’re in reasonably good shape.”

Mr Clancy made his comments at Enterprise Ireland’s end-of-year results presentation which showed net jobs increased by 5%, with 10,841 jobs created in 2022 among Enterprise Ireland clients.

The Irish start-up market also recorded a surge in preseed funding in the second half of the year.

However, Mr Clancy said there is a growing trend of new companies looking to expand into eurozone markets instead of the UK, which at one time would have been the preferred market for early-stage companies.

Mr Clancy said this trend is due to ongoing uncertainty in the UK economy.

“Irish companies have been underexposed to the eurozone,” said Mr Clancy.

I think there’s massive opportunity to do more in the wider eurozone.”

Enterprise Ireland companies now employ 218,178 people, and 68% of these jobs are based outside Dublin.

Employment increased across Enterprise Ireland’s three core economic sectors which are technology and services, which rose 8%; industrial and life sciences, which went up 5%; and food and sustainability, which increased by 3%.

In terms of further growth trends, Mr Clancy said he sees opportunity for agritech companies.

“I think those are really interesting for us, because climate and sustainability are going to be huge global industries,” said Mr Clancy.

“Agritech is a hidden gem for us.”

Climate, sustainability, and agritech also recorded employment growth of 13% last year, digital technology jobs rose 9%, high-tech construction and housing employment grew 6%, and fintech, financial and business services jobs also grew by 6%.

'Regional balance'

“A real positive of today’s results is the regional balance in terms of both new jobs created and total employment,” said newly appointed Enterprise Minister Simon Coveney.

“More than 147,000 people in the regions are now employed by Enterprise Ireland client companies, making an enormous contribution to local economies and communities,” he said.

The results also showed there were 161 early-stage company approvals last year, as well as 102 research and development approvals greater than €100,000.

There were also 144 climate projects supported and 238 companies entering a new market. There were 1,271 overseas contracts secured with Enterprise Ireland’s assistance.

“Supporting Irish-owned companies to achieve greater scale and expand their global footprint is a priority for Enterprise Ireland in 2023 and we are committed to supporting Irish companies on their journey to become global leaders in their field,” said Mr Clancy.