The Tanaiste, Ms Harney, said yesterday she was now more concerned about the US economy, and that the pipeline of industrial development projects was not as healthy as it was two or three months ago.

At the publication of Enterprise Ireland's new policy on creating new Irish digital media companies, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment announced that, in the past 12 months, total investments of #54 million had been made in 41 Irish-owned companies through expansions, start-ups and research and development in the high-tech sector.

This would create 1,700 new jobs over the next two to three years and Enterprise Ireland hoped to increase the number of projects annually by 50 per cent over that period, she said.

Speaking to RTE, the Tanaiste said that, while foreign direct investment was not as healthy as it was three months ago, she had confidence in the economic policies of the Bush administration, particularly on enterprise and tax, and in their capacity to make things happen quickly. But Ms Harney said there was still a question about when the US slowdown would end.

"While I acknowledge that technology companies are operating in a more difficult environment, these figures demonstrate that the international services sector is likely to remain a key growth area," she said.

Despite the current climate, Enterprise Ireland is determined to accelerate the numbers of new high-tech start-ups, according to its director Mr Peter Coyle.