A leading academic has warned that Ireland's economic progress is at risk if there is not a sharp increase in the number of information and communications technology (ICT) graduates.
Dr Mícheál Ó hEigeartaigh, head of the department of physical and quantitative sciences at Waterford Institute of Technology, says huge opportunities are being missed as third-level students spurned computing and information technology courses after the perception took hold in 2002 and 2003 that fewer firms were recruiting.
"The stark reality is that literally thousands of well-paid and interesting jobs in the software sector are going unfilled because of a very serious lack of graduates with relevant skills. The ultimate impact of this will be to make Ireland a far less attractive location for inward investment, something that will have very serious implications not only for the current generation but also for the future."
Dr Ó hEigeartaigh said analysts IDC had found Ireland will drop from third to 21st place in a European league table on available ICT skills within two years as demand outstrips supply.
"This means those EU countries that we compete with for investment will continue to improve their skills pool as ours falls back. Ireland's prospects of staying competitive and successful are about to be undermined, yet we see no real evidence of a national debate on this issue. "While there is some limited scope for using highly skilled immigrants to fill vacancies, this is not a complete panacea and is no substitute in reality for having a home-grown cohort of graduates who can work alongside some of their international peers.
"The bottom line is that we now have over 900 firms engaged in our ICT sector and these generate exports worth €16 billion, one-fifth of our total exports as well as creating huge opportunities for secure employment."