Taoiseach Enda Kenny has hailed Telefónica’s new incubator programme for technology start-ups as “significant” and “exactly what we need here”.

Speaking at the launch of Wayra, the O2 parent company’s programme for would-be tech entrepreneurs, Mr Kenny said the Government’s plan on jobs was “not something that’s sitting on a shelf”.

In September Telefónica will open the Wayra Academy at its building in Dublin’s Docklands, where 10 successful projects will be given workspace, mentoring and funding of up to €50,000.

In exchange for the initial financing the company takes a 10 per cent stake in the business. It also receives first-refusal rights on any products and services developed, but does not require entrepreneurs to give it exclusivity.

Ireland is the 10th country in which Telefónica has launched Wayra, which means “wind” in Quechua, a language of the central Andes. To date more than 9,000 submissions have been made, and the company has provided financing to 100 start-ups.