Dublin City Centre is in danger of becoming “just a place for rich people” with high-earning tech professionals pricing other workers out of the property market.

Irish Independent Technology Editor Adrian Weckler is warning that the tech boom in Ireland has led to a “kind of a San Franciscoisation of Dublin” with properties inside the canals now unaffordable for most people.

In his latest column, Mr Weckler notes that people looking to buy property within the canals are battling against a growing cohort of high-earning tech workers who can pay far higher prices.

He warns that things are about to get tougher, with companies like Google now starting to bring staff back to the Dublin office, at least on a part-time basis.

On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, Mr Weckler many people are not aware of the salaries that are on offer at the big tech firms.

“It is not generally known across Irish society that you can, as a certain type of software graduate, in your early 20s - earn six figures in the industry now,” he said

“If you work in one of the many thousands of tech jobs in Dublin city, it is not that unusual to be earning say €90,000, €100,000 or €110,000.

“So, when you’re looking at a rental, say for example of €2,500 or €2,800 for a two-bed, that is an irritant, but it is absolutely affordable.

"It's absolutely doable if you work in one of these companies, whereas, to the rest of us, to a lot of ordinary workers, that is absolutely out of sight. There is no chance or no way they would ever be able to afford that.”

Mr Weckler said the high salaries on offer are a good thing for Dublin and other cities – but noted that city planners need to take them into account when considering housing into the future.

“No-one should begrudge these people their salaries,” he said. “In many ways, it is a very good thing that our own young people can now work for companies in the capital city or even Cork, Galway, or Limerick, not have to emigrate, earn great salaries and plan their future.

“But the point here is that this has happened under the noses of a lot of people who haven’t realised it has happened and, if we don’t plan in the near future, the likes of Dublin City between the canals, it’s going to become a lot like San Francisco – really, just a place for rich people.