The issue of jobs and employment is proving to be a strong one during the Irish election campaign.

This is according to the Wall Street Journal, which reports that the first day of campaigning for Enda Kenny of Fine Gael saw the party leader focus on the current high level of unemployment in the country.

He claimed his party has a plan to add 20,000 jobs a year to the economy over the next four years by favoring spending cuts over tax rises.

He cited figures suggesting 300,000 people have lost their jobs in the last three years.

Meanwhile, a recent report commissioned by Microsoft Ireland and compiled by Goodbody Economic Consultants indicated 8,600 new IT jobs could be created in Ireland by 2014 if the country takes the opportunity to become recognized as an international centre of excellence in terms of virtualization technologies.

A further 11,000 roles could be indirectly established due to expansion with the cloud computing sector, according to the study.

Posted by Kate Griffin