300 Zagg jobs confirmed

ENTERPRISE Minister Richard Bruton will come to Shannon on Friday morning and it is expected that 300 new jobs will be announced.
As previously reported, an investment by US company Zagg will result in the creation of 160 jobs by the end of 2012, with another 140 over the next four years.
It is expected that they will occupy the building previously used by Tyco Electronics.
Zagg make accessories for electronic products such as screen protectors and cases. They are expected to serve customers in Europe, Asia and Africa from Shannon.
In 2010, the company recorded revenue for the year of US$76.1m, with a gross profit of $37.4m.
The announcement comes after a year in which the overall level of employment at the Shannon Free Zone declined by 4%.
Six-hundred-and-sixteen jobs were lost but this was offset by the creation of another 362 jobs.
In a statement, Shannon Development said, “Three-hundred-and-sixty-two new jobs were created at Shannon Free Zone during 2010. Among the job highlights in 2010 was the announcement of up to 117 Shannon Development-supported new jobs at US global financial security firm Genworth Financial.
“While overall employment at Shannon Free Zone fell 4% year on year, it should be noted that almost 90% of these job losses were the result of downsizing and not closures, enabling Shannon Development to continue working with these companies to identify new market opportunities. Jobs in indigenous companies at Shannon Free Zone grew by 5.5% from 949 to 1,002 during 2010,” the statement read.
A spokesperson for Shannon Development said the performance in 2010 had been quite good despite the decline in numbers employed. “The Shannon Free Zone performed well against a difficult global business environment in 2010. Shannon Free Zone continues to be a major economic driver for the Shannon Region, with Shannon Free Zone companies collectively contributing over €600m to the Irish and Shannon Region economy annually in areas such as staff payroll, materials and services.”
Clare TD Joe Carey said he believed Ireland’s tax rate had been crucial to attracting Zagg to Clare. “These jobs are at the cutting edge of new technologies and represent a vote of confidence in the region. It should be acknowledged that the availability of the 12.5% corporate tax rate was a definite factor in the ability of Ireland to secure these jobs. This underlines the need to protect our rate of tax in Ireland in the face of some different views from some of our EU partners. Ireland needs to stand firm on this,” he said.