Ireland has sight of a "healthy" pipeline of multinational investments for the first half of 2023 but it will be slightly weaker than this year when jobs growth hit record levels, the state investment agency said on Wednesday.

"Notwithstanding the current challenges and uncertainty in the global environment, IDA client companies are generally optimistic on the prospects for their businesses," IDA Ireland Interim CEO Mary Buckley told a parliamentary committee.

"We have sight of a healthy pipeline for the first half of 2023, albeit slightly weaker than the first half of 2022," Buckley said, responding to concerns over recent jobs cuts by global technology firms with major operations in Ireland. (Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Alex Richardson)