DUBLIN (Reuters) - IBM ( IBM ) plans to hire up to 800 more people in Ireland to help build advanced software underpinned by AI technology, the biggest job announcement in the country's multinational sector this year, state investment agency IDA Ireland said on Thursday.

The U.S. IT software and consultancy services provider, which is one of the largest multinational employers in Ireland with 3,000 staff, will add the roles in research and development, digital sales and consulting.

Ireland is hugely reliant on foreign multinationals, which have almost doubled their workforce in the last decade to make up around 11% of the entire labour market.

However multinational employment fell by 0.3% last year, the first annual decline since 2009 as layoffs in the technology sector offset jobs growth in every other category.

"This is set to deliver real uplift in the Irish technology ecosystem by advancing capabilities across key growth areas for IDA Ireland such as cloud, AI, quantum and cybersecurity," IDA Ireland chief executive Michael Lohan said in a statement.