A report from the Digital Marketing Institute (DMI) in Dublin reveals that 83pc of people with a marketing remit failed to achieve entry-level competency and also scored 34pc lower than their international colleagues. The Digital Marketing Institute assessed 622 people (380 in Ireland) by asking them 54 questions across the core digital marketing disciplines of strategy and planning, mobile, search, display, email and social media marketing.

Digital skills competency in Ireland was found to be 30pc lower than entry-level competency - that expected of a junior digital executive, or anyone undertaking basic digital campaigns tactics for a business.

With a predicted 150,000 digital jobs and an internet economy worth €21.1bn by 2020, co-founder and director of the DMI, Ian Dodson, believes the implications for the Irish economy are significant. “The digital economy has taken centre stage in Ireland’s economic recovery with the industry creating hundreds of jobs every month.”