The Tánaiste says the Government made "every effort" to keep the Web Summit in Dublin.

Joan Burton was speaking after the technology conference’s founder Paddy Cosgrave released correspondence with the Taoiseach’s Department - which he says show ‘inaction’ on behalf of the Government. The correspondence was a chain of emails over the month before Mr Cosgrave announced the Web Summit was moving to Lisbon. Their publication has divided opinion, with some commentators criticising the government for supposed inaction, while others have commented that the event organisers were making excessive demands.

Meanwhile, Enda Kenny’s office has released figures showing that €700,000 in State aid was given to the event over the past three years.

It is estimated that the event brought in €100m to the economy last year.

Tánaiste Joan Burton says the coalition did everything it could to satisfy the Web Summit’s founders.

"I think the government offered a huge amount of support and active support to the web summit, the Taoiseach in particular. Obviously as is the way with business they felt they go ta better offer someplace else.

"I'm not sure, we’ll see how it will work out in practice but Id certainly love to see them coming back in the future," she said.

However, Adrian Weckler, technology editor at the Irish Independent, spoke to Pat Kenny this morning and said he felt the Government statement was a bit misleading.

Fianna Fáil's tourism spokesman Timmy Dooley says the government could have done more to keep the event here, and appear to have failed to understand the threat from other nations looking to tempt the Summit away.

"I think they assumed because this operation as developed here that it would remain here, not recognising that other countries see it as a major opportunity to attract foreign investment (and) use it as an opportunity to showcase their emerging technologies,” he said.