The software industry has been warned that it must dispel its macho image in order to attract more women and avoid intensifying the skills shortage.

The "nerdy, anorak, war games image" often portrayed by the sector may be responsible for the decline in the number of women entering it over the past five years, Irish Software Association chairwoman, Ms Mary Cryan, warned.

Ms Cryan also urged greater efforts to draw women into the industry at an earlier age and called for an increase in the availability of information technology subjects in secondary schools. She was speaking the 10th National Software Conference in UCD, where a central theme was raising finance to develop a business. The attendance - from all sectors of the industry - was told software firms needed access to at least £2 million or £3 million to break into a global niche sector. And, over the next five years, Ireland must secure £500 million in venture capital funds to make a global market breakthrough in the indigenous sector.

Mr Michael Elias, managing director of British venture capitalists, Kennet Capital, said: "The international venture capital community is waking up to the fact that Ireland has a base of interesting growth technology companies and an impressive pool of engineering and management talent."

Meanwhile, Ms Cryan also predicted that greater opportunities in software careers outside Dublin would be one of the chief benefits of the lifting of the derogation on voice telephony. She said the Government had made considerable progress in developing telecommunications in the past few years, but must now go the final step to ensure the network is up to global standards.

Ms Cryan also called for the Government's research, technology and investment fund to be increased as the software industry needed to spend at least £40 million annually on R & D to ensure continued growth.