The commentary in the media suggests that the employment market in Ireland is under pressure. But is it affecting executives who might be the subject of a search?

Demand is very good for candidates at the senior end of the market, across all functions and most sectors. The issue at the moment is a supply issue, as opposed to a demand one . . . and the economy is still very strong.

Senior people within companies are very well looked after, very well compensated and very well challenged.

I won't say that they are very comfortable . . . but, as a result, they are not that interested in looking outwards, so when senior opportunities come up, getting people who are thinking of making a change is an issue.

So how does that differ from when MERC Partners first began in the early 1980s?

Back then, it was more an issue of technical fit . . . finding a person who would fit technically for a role (I don't mean in terms of engineering, I mean a person who had the right qualifications, whether that was in engineering, finance, production, whatever). So, even back then, demand outstripped supply within all the multinationals which were attracted to Ireland by the IDA. The early 1980s were the heyday for the IDA, with a huge number of successes, and a lot of companies in areas such as electronics and healthcare were starting up.

A major difference between today and the 1980s came in the advertising for positions, which focused more on the technical side.

Today, technical skills are taken for granted, and there is a focus on the softer skills and leadership skills.

You are an executive search specialist company. Was there any search in Ireland in 1980?

We were in the vanguard.

There were no search practices back then, and recruitment, even at the senior end, was done through advertised selection or in general through agencies.

But we noticed that search was a significant industry in the US, and was becoming more significant in the UK and Europe . . . so, essentially, we jumped on the bandwagon.

Was it a difficult time to be an executive?

There certainly weren't as many opportunities back then, but I wouldn't describe the early 1980s as "bad times".

They were times of change, and we were just coming out of a severe unemployment problem. Evidence of that can be seen in the fact that, between 1982 and 1990, the value of properties in Ireland dropped. But there were more industries growing in the 1980s, and multinationals were attracted not only by the favourable tax regime, but also by the lower operating costs.

Which is not the case anymoref No, but any negatives are being replaced by good opportunities in the service industries, and by the knowledge society . . .although greater knowledge will be necessary into the future.