A new initiative aimed at filling 1,500 vacancies in Irish-owned software companies was introduced today be Enterprise Ireland.

The initiative targets professionals both at home and overseas and offers IT vacancies from graduate to director level.

The campaign is centred around the ITs Happening Here website where Irish owned software companies can post their jobs.

Welcoming the initiative, Jennifer Condon, manager of Enterprise Ireland's software division, said: "Finding IT talent is currently the single biggest challenge for our software companies. Strongly focused on exports the Irish owned software industry is one of our fastest growing indigenous industries delivering double digit growth in exports every year."