Irish start-ups say their biggest concern is funding
The poll, by Scale Ireland, found that 80pc say attracting private capital is 'difficult' or 'very difficult', echoing previous surveys conducted by the organisation.
The poll also reported that nearly two-thirds of start-up leaders say Ireland is 'not doing enough' to help indigenous tech firms attract and retain talent.
The survey suggests that tech employment remains tipped in favour of workers, with more than half of founders saying that staff retention was as difficult as the previous year. Almost 17pc found it more difficult. A third of those polled say their company lost staff over the last 12 months, and almost 75pc either did not lay off any staff or it was not an issue for them. Over half of respondents rated the contribution of non-EU workers as 'very significant' with a further 35pc describing it as 'significant'.
Meanwhile, 88pc of founders are deploying or preparing to deploy AI, even though nearly half do not know what impact the EU's AI Act will have on their business.
Uptake of state supports remains 'difficult', according to the survey, with just 10pc of founders using the KEEP share options scheme to help recruit or retain staff, while 58pc say that they are not availing of R&D tax credits. A third of those polled said they found the Employment and Incentive Investment Scheme (EIIS) process difficult or very difficult and almost 40pc believe the KEEP scheme needs reform.
Over half of companies (58pc) polled now have a female founder in their leadership team, up from 51pc in 2024.
'The survey demonstrates the challenging investment landscape facing start-up and scaling companies and the need to attract more private investment,' said Brian Caulfield, chairman of Scale Ireland.
'We need to significantly support greater levels of angel and VC investment, revenue growth capital and IPOs. We also need to unlock pension fund savings into indigenous companies. Even a small change would have a significant impact. Our findings also show that we need to do more to attract and retain staff if we are to meet our ambitious goals for the growth of the Irish tech sector.'
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