Ronan O'Sullivan of the Compustaff employment agency in Galway city says things have become very quiet in the recruitment sector right now. This is particularly true of the information technology industry.

"Recruitment agencies are the first to know of these trends and there's no doubt that the information technology industry is in recession right now," he says. "What surprised people most was the speed at which the IT recession arrived."

Paradoxically, he believes the swiftness at which the slow-down took hold bodes well for the future: "It probably will pick up again with the same speed when the next technological development comes along. As soon as people can see where the industry is going, I think it will pick up rather quickly. Nobody can be certain, but the pick-up probably won't happen this year."

Some local factors don't help. Mr O'Sullivan says: "Until the west gets a decent airport it will continue to be difficult for companies to set up in business here. People are having difficulty getting in or out of Galway city. There's a squeeze on venture capital, due to the uncertainty in the market. There's been a turn-around from a year ago."