DUBLIN, Ireland: Digital Business Ireland (DBI) has asked the Government to do more to help Ireland's digital and tech sector. This comes after new data showed that fewer social media companies are operating in Ireland, and jobs in the industry have dropped by 11 percent.

According to information from the Department of Enterprise, the number of social media companies in Ireland fell by 20 percent, from 40 companies in 2022 to 32 in 2023. At the same time, the number of people working in those companies dropped from 15,478 to 13,744.

DBI said it welcomes the Government's new plans to make Ireland a center of expertise and a regulatory hub for companies working across the EU's Digital Single Market. The group also supports efforts to make sure Ireland benefits from new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) through innovation and investment.

However, DBI believes that these plans must be supported by strong pro-business and pro-growth actions. It says that while digital rules and regulations are important, they should not hold back the sector's growth.

DBI is urging the Government to take the following steps:

• Review and improve the work of the Data Protection Commission and State enterprise agencies so they can better advise and support businesses.
• Lead efforts to simplify complex EU digital regulations to help digital and tech companies grow and innovate.
• Seek more data-sharing agreements with countries outside the EU.

Caroline Dunlea, chairperson of Digital Business Ireland, said: "The drop in social media jobs in Ireland is a clear warning. We cannot take the digital and tech sector for granted."

"Government must do more to protect jobs in the digital and tech sectors and to safeguard Ireland's reputation as a supportive base for global digital and tech companies.

"A pro-business, pro-growth approach to supporting the digital and tech sectors must be prioritized by the coalition as part of its competitiveness agenda."