Technology Ireland has called for significant investment to be pumped into meeting EU digital transition targets in a bid to grow the tech sector in the Republic of Ireland.
In its pre-budget submission, Technology Ireland — an arm of lobby group Ibec — urged the Government to put aside €100m a year until 2030 to meet national and EU digital transition targets, and to provide continued funding for digital transition measures currently funded through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.
Technology Ireland director Una Fitzpatrick said it is “essential” that Ireland resources itself to comply with EU frameworks, especially as a number of multinationals based their European headquarters in Ireland.
Ms Fitzpatrick added that her organisation is also seeing the establishment of a minister of state for digital delivery under the Department of An Taoiseach, “given the high priority assigned to digitalisation from the European Commission”.
Technology Ireland echoed Ibec’s recommendation at its own pre-budget submission in recent weeks to deploy money tucked away in the National Training Fund to upskill workers.
“The Government will have a surplus nearing €2bn in the National Training Fund in 2025 and a significant release of investment from the fund should be outlined in the budget,” a spokesperson for the organisation said.
The organisation also called for a review of the taxation system to enable SMEs to scale and retain their businesses in Ireland and recommended a research and development tax credit.
Technology Ireland this would allow smaller firms to manage administrative expenses more effectively and utilise the credit.
“This budget must seek to respond to evolving tax regimes to preserve and enhance Ireland’s appeal as a prime tech business destination,” the spokesperson added.