The Taoiseach today warned of more hi-tech job losses following the sector's downturn in the United States.
His comments came after a move yesterday by Dell to lay off 200 administrative staff in Limerick.
But Mr Ahern, at a conference in Dublin on the future of the Internet, said the setbacks would only be short-term and said: "The market is expanding and there is so much happening. This is going to continue to be an enormous industry."
He said: "We are seeing a turndown in the economic fortunes of information technology companies, and the view is that the correction will continue throughout the rest of this year.
"It is probably going to take to the end of the third quarter of the year before we see the wealth-loss that has obviously happened in America.
"Nobody believes it will be long-term, but it will be a factor in the short-term. We are going to see some job losses.
"But all these problems in America tend to turn around, and the pent-up demand will come, and the position will shoot back up again," Mr Ahern said.
PA