Tag: irelands

Taking a Look at Ireland’s Thriving Tech Industry

Whilst Ireland is already known for its gorgeous nature, Paddy’s Day, and the creation of one of the best beverages out there – there’s still so much more it has to offer the world. Chiefly, it has a surprisingly innovative tech sector that has been growing steadily in recent years. But let’s take a deeper look at this below.

The Rise of Dublin as a Tech Hub

Thanks to its strategic location in Europe, Ireland quickly became a base for many tech companies, especially when it comes to US tech giants. Some examples include Google, which has made Dublin its European headquarters and Apple, with a major campus in Cork. Even Uber holds an office in Limerick, while Amazon followed Google’s choice of Dublin for its fulfilment centre.

However, this isn’t simply limited to foreign businesses opting to open a location in Ireland. The region is also home to its own successful companies. One such company is Paddy Power, founded in 1988 in Dublin, Ireland and part of the iGaming sector. The iGaming sector provides uses with access to several online gambling options. For instance, users can play bingo for free at Paddy’s, rather than being limited to physical bingo halls. The sector has welcomed several technological advancements, such as mobile gaming, that ensure the prosperity and longevity of their services. 

These factors have led multiple startups to pick Ireland as their hub, acknowledging the fact that it provides a prime location in Europe. Moreover, strong government incentives and support have further made it the ideal area for such ventures. Some of the best startups in Ireland to watch are Wayflyer, Everseen, and NomuPay.

The Impact of Ireland’s Tech Industry on the Economy

The booming tech sector has positively impacted the economy of Ireland in multiple significant ways. For starters, the revenue of tech businesses tends to be a major contributor to Ireland’s tax revenue, reaching 17% as advised by the Irish Revenue Department. 

The developments have also greatly improved employment rates, with over 120,000 workers in ICT, as per the Central Statistics Office. This number is poised to continue rising as the sector continues growing, creating thousands more job opportunities. This has also led professional talent from all over the world to flock to Ireland, further contributing to increased consumer spending.

In terms of investment, many investors are looking to invest in the flourishing tech ecosystem, making Ireland a great option for investors. Also, since Ireland has been put on the map as a tech hub, it has ensured that other sectors outside of technology choose this place to make their home, further boosting the economy. 

Ireland is poised to become one of the leading countries when it comes to tech, and this will continue to have a far-reaching impact on the economy, employment and investment. As such, whether you’re a professional, business owner, or investor, we’d suggest keeping a keen eye out on anything and everything the Irish tech sector has to offer.

Ireland’s hardest jobs to fill.

Engineering and construction related jobs are some of the hardest positions for employers to fill, according to new data by hiring platform Indeed. The analysis looked at Irish job postings from January 1st through to the end of April this year to determine which positions were most likely to remain open for over 60 days – an indicator of it being ‘hard to fill’.

Junior engineer positions were particularly hard to fill, with 2 in 3 (67%) of these positions remaining open for over 60 days. Employers were also finding construction professionals of all types difficult to recruit for, with titles such as mechanical and electrical project manager, civil supervisor and construction manager also featuring heavily on the list.

When it comes to white collar jobs, positions such as tax senior and solicitor were both listed as some of the hardest to fill. Meanwhile some tech roles also remain difficult to find the right talent for with the gap in Ireland’s tech skills persisting for roles such as python developer and front-end developer. The increasing demand for moderators also seems to be causing a talent mismatch, with over half of these roles remaining open over 60 days.

Well documented shortages in healthcare workers were reflected in caregivers also being listed among the hardest to fill roles. Previous Indeed data has shown the top two job searches that saw the biggest increase on the Irish site in 2022 were “visa sponsorship, healthcare assistant” (up 532%) and “visa sponsorship, elderly care” (up 421%). The nature of these searches suggest that Ireland is highly reliant on foreign workers to fill this talent gap in healthcare.

 Jack Kennedy, Senior Economist at Indeed:

“Many of the roles listed are highly specialised and require extensive training or experience, which in itself can narrow the candidate pool. Coupled with the lowest unemployment rate on record since the early millennium boom, as well as the high cost of living driving youth emigration and making it increasingly difficult to attract overseas talent, some employers may feel talent bottlenecks in the coming months.”

“However this is good news for jobseekers in these professions, or someone looking to break into a new industry, as they will be in a good position to negotiate a better salary. This may also be good news for the Irish diaspora looking to return home after emigrating after the last recession, which we know deeply affected sectors like construction. Longer term, however, employers and policy makers will need to examine talent pipelines and find ways to address the persistent barriers to recruitment in the industries most affected.”

Source: Indeed Ireland data (1 Jan 2023 to 30 April 2023)

Rank Job Title % of postings open 60+ days
1 Junior engineer

66.9
2 Camp Leader

65.3
3 Python Developer

65
4 Tax Senior

63.6
5 Civil Supervisor

62.7
6 Mechanical and Electrical Project Manager

62.2
7 Solicitor

61.2
8 Junior Project Manager

60.7
9 Caregiver

60.3
10 Senior Design Engineer

59.8
11 Mechanical Designer

59.6
12 Lawyer

59.5
13 Senior Project Engineer

56.1
14 Front End Developer

55.6
15 Construction Manager

54.2
16 Moderator

53.8
17 Building Information Modelling Manager

53.7
18 Senior Engineer

53.4
19 Construction Project Manager

52.2
20 Resident Engineer

51.5

Ireland’s Tech Sector is Leading One of the World’s Biggest Industries

The Irish tech sector may not get the attention it deserves when it’s compared to Silicon Valley or London, but it’s more than a match for even these two hubs in certain areas. One area where Ireland has led the way for a few years now is gaming and, specifically, casino gaming. Thanks to major players in the industry calling Ireland home, many of the casino world’s best innovations emanate from our shores.

The best example of this is Flutter Entertainment. Based in Dublin’s Belfield Office Park, Flutter is among the largest online gambling companies in the world with a value of more than €30 billion. The company made Dublin its international headquarters in February 2022. The decision was prompted, in part, by the fact it owns one of Ireland’s biggest gambling exports, Paddy Power, and its sister site, Betfair.

Merger Makes Flutter a Gambling Powerhouse

Paddy Power and Betfair merged in 2015 to create Paddy Power Betfair. Many acquisitions later, including a takeover of The Stars Group, facilitated the switch to Flutter Entertainment. Under this banner, these sites, most notably Betfair, have become places where customers can find the best casino promotions in the UK. From free spin welcome bonuses to daily cash drops, Betfair and its stablemates have become synonymous with value and entertainment.

However, as we’ve said, they’ve also become tech hubs under the Flutter Entertainment banner. Go to the live casino lobby, for example, and you’ll find branded tables overseen by human dealers. These live dealer tables not only offer classic casino games such as blackjack and roulette, but they also feature game show-style offerings like Spin A Win.

Yes, these games were designed by Playtech and Evolution Gaming. However, the branded games have been developed in collaboration with Flutter Entertainment. Moreover, Flutter has given these games a place to sit and, in turn, where they can be accessed by millions of customers. Sticking with gaming, you’ll notice that Flutter-owned casinos also have daily jackpots. These progressive prize pools are designed to drop prizes at random intervals. This innovation has since been copied by other online casinos.

Innovations in All Areas

Gaming isn’t the only area where Flutter has changed the game. For example, Paddy Power Sports pioneered one-touch live bets to reduce the time it takes customers to lock in wagers. This innovation basically removed the confirmation process, so the bet could be locked in with a single tap. Another innovation from Paddy Power was Track My Bet, a system that allows customers to monitor wagers made inside betting shops via their computer or mobile. It’s not just online gambling butone of the world’s biggest industries worth more than €100 billion where Flutter has pushed the envelope.

Its headquarters in Dublin was given a €15.5 million makeover ahead of becoming the company’s international nerve centre. As well as housing 1,700 employees, the 164,000 sq. ft building has an onsite convenience store run by artificial intelligence technology. Add to this, leisure spaces and a live roof that’s home to three beehives, and Flutter’s HQ is as innovative as the gambling products it produces. For Ireland, that’s good news. With companies such as Flutter Entertainment leading the way, the local tech sector is gaining worldwide acclaim, and rightly so.