Ireland's tech sector 'resilient', says McGrath as he opens data firm's new offices in Cork

Finance Minister Michael McGrath said Rubrik's expansion and further plans in Ireland showed that the tech sector remains resilient.

Ireland's burgeoning tech sector is resilient, with continuing success stories among smaller firms counterbalancing job losses from the biggest names such as Microsoft, Meta, and Google, according to Finance Minister Michael McGrath.

Mr McGrath was in Cork to officially open California-headquartered data security firm Rubrik's new offices in Ballincollig, having outgrown its previous base at the IDA's Bishopstown campus by doubling its workforce in the past five years.

Earlier this month, an analysis by the Dublin-based EU agency Eurofound, or the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, examined worldwide job cuts at Facebook parent Meta, Amazon, Salesforce, Microsoft, and Google.

Ireland has been "by far" the biggest casualty when it comes to the tech giants laying off staff, with 40% of the redundancies in the EU over the past three years, Eurofound said.

However, Mr McGrath pointed to Rubrik's expansion and further plans in Ireland as evidence that the tech sector "remains resilient".

"We have of course been impacted by the announcements made by some of the global tech companies, but to see a company such as Rubrik grow from essentially zero years ago, to now 100 people working here in their state-of-the-art offices in Ballincollig is a great boost.

"It outlines to us and reminds all of us that while the global players are really important, those that have major operations here, global players such as Rubrik are also looking to Ireland as a location for growth and for further investments."

Rubrik, whose clients include Harvard, PepsiCo and Estée Lauder, said Munster's depth of talent has driven significant local growth. 

Chief customer officer at Rubrik Giri Iyer said: “When we originally announced expansion to the region in 2018, we had plans for 50 new jobs in Cork. Since then, we have nearly doubled this headcount across engineering, customer support, and sales."