Living in Ireland Guide 2023
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by Sean Whelan
Job Interview Preparation
2022 has been a hugely turbulent year in so many ways. We have seen some crazy things happening. The war in Ukraine, the subsequent energy crisis, inflation, the threat of an economic slowdown and Newcastle United are third in the premier league. It’s been unpredictable, constantly changing and difficult.
We wanted to take this opportunity to highlight the current cost of living in Ireland and compare it to last year's guide to spot the different areas of increases across the board. Hopefully this is useful to anyone living in Ireland and/or considering moving here.
Unless you've been living under a rock you are well aware of the cost of living crisis that everyone is experiencing, not only in Ireland but most of Europe. The war between Russia and Ukraine is having a major effect on the prices and consumption of oil all around Europe which ultimately makes it an expensive endeavour if you have to go back into the office and commute 5 times a week. A 2-year global pandemic has also caused major issues in the economy, with many hospitality services having to raise their prices, a surge in energy prices is making heating homes very expensive and inflation is making the price of food rise more than ever before.
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Statistics and Comparisons between 2021 & 2022
We have witnessed a drastic increase in the cost of living across the entire country. For example in Dublin:
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15.8% increase from 2021 in rent in a 1 bedroom apartment in the city centre
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34.5% increase from 2021 in cost of utilities in Dublin
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8.9% Increase from 2021 in the cost of childcare in Dublin
These increases can have a huge impact on the IT market and its industry. A lot more candidates will be reluctant to relocate to Dublin and prefer locations with a more affordable standard of living, whilst working remotely. Our living in Ireland guide below will give you a complete picture of the cost of living across the entire country.
With this increase we are seeing that salary demands are much higher than they were last year, with candidates taking every single detail into consideration of a new job prospect.
What we see our candidates asking for consistently:
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Salary increase
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Comprehensive benefits package
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Fully remote option
These are some of the trends we are seeing while speaking to candidates across the software development talent market. When having these conversations with different candidates,
another important aspect I have noticed is that there is a lot more awareness regarding the stability of certain industries. For example, fintech is quite strong and resilient as well as medtech, but ecommerce has taken a hit.
Also, if you’re planning on relocating to Ireland, one thing you should familiarise yourself with is the rate of tax for different salary brackets. I would always encourage my candidates to use the deloitte tax calculator to figure out exactly how much they come out with as their net pay after all deductions have been accounted for.
What Will 2023 bring?
With all the stats, figures, increases and layoffs, 2023 looks like a turbulent year for the IT industry, but can there be any positives? Let's discuss it.
Hiring potential
There are some industries that will always offer reassurance and stability when a recession comes knocking. Insurance is one of them. I have been working with a multinational reinsurance company over the last 12 months as they had many open roles within their tech division. When talking to candidates they are a lot more intrigued by the prospect of the industry being in insurance as it is a more appealing job opportunity, when the wider market is not as strong. Stability is a word that has become a lot more popular when having conversations with candidates that are open in the market.
Another example of an industry that can expand on their hiring plans is the fraud detection space. When a recession is imminent fraudulent activity tends to increase which would spike a huge demand in different softwares that can detect it and ultimately prevent it.
Within frontend development I'm seeing a big trend as there is a growth in the popularity and demand for react.js as the industry is moving away from angular. This could potentially lead to more open roles in the new year, when there is a demand for a certain skill set within the IT industry it tends to attract more job openings.
If you’re looking for more insights on frontend and some of the statistics that have been collated for the year of 2022, check out this article The State Of Frontend in 2022.
What about IT salary trends?
The discussion on salary increases was touched on in this blog but in more detail, we are seeing a big trend of salary changes in the IT industry at the minute. A mid level developer's salary now is what a senior developer used to be. The current economic state has a big part to play in this but there is a counter-offer culture that we are seeing between current employers on a continuous basis.
If you would like more info on current salaries within the IT market, feel free to download our salary guide and review the salaries for 2022, we are currently finishing up the salary estimates for 2023.
