Ireland's trades are booming. Around 171,676 people worked in construction in 2024, according to the Central Statistics Office, that's more than 1 in every 16 workers in the country. And it's growing fast. Construction created jobs faster than any other part of the economy last year, up roughly 18%. Electricians are the most common trade of the lot, followed by carpenters.

The problem is there aren't enough of them. Skilled tradespeople are in short supply, and many are nearing retirement, so just as demand goes up, they're getting harder to find.

So, we wanted to find out who Ireland searches for the most when something breaks, floods, or starts scratching in the attic.

Using Google Keyword Planner and Google Trends, we added up the average monthly searches for terms like "plumber near me", "emergency electrician" and "pest control services" across all 26 counties over the past three years to see which trades people search for the most. We then adjusted the county figures for population, showing searches per 100,000 people, so counties of different sizes can be compared fairly.

Here's what we found.

Ireland’s most searched trades

Plumbing is a clear winner. From burst pipes to blocked drains to 3am emergencies, Irish homeowners search for a plumber 18,110 times per month, well ahead of every other trade.

Electricians come in a solid second on 13,540, which fits neatly with them being the most common trade in the workforce. Pest control takes third (11,570), followed by facilities and property maintenance (5,140) and fire and security (4,030) to round out the top five.

Ireland’s pest problem is climbing the rankings

The big surprise is in third place. Ireland searches for pest control 11,570 times a month, more than heating, solar and air conditioning put together (8,290). Wasps, rats and the odd unwanted houseguest are clearly on people's minds.

And there's a good reason those searches keep climbing. Pest experts say Ireland's warmer, wetter weather has thrown off the usual pest calendar. Winters used to be cold enough to kill off a lot of rats and mice, but milder winters mean more survive, and they start breeding earlier and in bigger numbers.

Warmer springs bring wasps out sooner and let them build bigger nests, while flies hang around later into the year. And when heavy rain floods, their burrows, rodents head indoors, into sheds, garages and wall cavities. As a result, the pest season now runs longer than it used to, and more people are reaching out for help.

Climate change is affecting pest behaviour and households and businesses are paying the price.

Trade demand by county

Go county by county, and a clear pattern emerges.

• Plumbing country (12 counties): Dublin, Cork, Galway and much of the populated east and south, where the plumber is king.

• Electrical strongholds (7 counties): Carlow, Longford, Roscommon and their neighbours in the midlands and northwest.

• Pest-control hotspots (7 counties): Sligo, Monaghan, Tipperary and other rural counties, where people worry more about what's moving in the walls.

Here is the most-searched trade in every county, with its average monthly search volume:

Looking at per 100,000 people, so every county is compared fairly, it's rural Ireland that searches hardest. The biggest gap is in pest control. Sligo searches for pest control around 1,382 times per 100,000 people, roughly six times the national average of 225.

Monaghan is close behind at four and a half times more. Plumbing is strongest in Westmeath at 883 per 100,000and electricians peak in Carlow at 984. With more farmland, more sheds and buildings, and a warmer, wetter climate, rural Ireland has far more reason to pick up the phone than the cities do.

What this means for the trades

Behind every one of these searches is a homeowner or business trying to find a qualified pair of hands, often quickly and often in an emergency. For the field-service businesses answering all those calls, the plumbers, electricians, pest controllers and everyone in between, staying on top of demand is a priority.

At Fieldmotion, our software helps field-service teams manage jobs, schedule engineers, send invoices and keep customers happy, all from one place. Take control of your field operations by booking a demo with our team.

Methodology: We analysed average monthly Google search volumes from January 2023 to December 2025, using Google Keyword Planner and cross-referencing with Google Trends. Across all 26 counties, we looked at service-related search terms such as "plumbers near me", "emergency electrician" and "pest control [county]", among many others, covering the trades that make up Ireland's field-service sector. These terms were grouped into nine trade categories and totalled to produce the national and county rankings. County figures are also shown per 100,000 people, using Census 2022 population data, so counties of different sizes can be compared fairly.