Tag Archives: employment

IDA IRELAND has announced the highest level of employment in its client companies in its history. Total employment in overseas companies, according to the Government agency responsible for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), now stands at 199,877 people.   IDA client companies created just under 19,000 (18,627) jobs on the ground during the year across a range of sectors, with every region of Ireland posting net gains in jobs. THE IDA has completed two years of its five year strategy, Winning: Foreign Direct Investment 2015-2019 – with the latest results indicating a strong performance by the organisation towards delivering its 2019 target of 80,000 new jobs and 900 investments. The performance was produced against a background of unprecedented geopolitical changes, an underperforming European economy and intense competition from other jurisdictions for foreign direct investment. A record number of investments secured during the year rose to 244 from 213 in the previous year. The number of new name investments went to …

COUNCILLOR Ian Lynch has hit out at a lack of investment in Clare and a failure to make proper use of the Shannon Estuary. In a letter to Deputy Pat Breen, Councillor Lynch stated, “I see a recent announcement that the Government is seeking preclearance for freight from the port of Limerick, making the port of Foynes a shipping hub for Europe. “While the announcement is a welcome one for the region, it again shows the Government’s lack of commitment to County Clare and long-term foresight to maximise the Shannon Estuary’s potential. It’s hard to imagine why the Government would limit such a positive prospect to a port that is restricted for vessel turnaround and draft. This is even harder to imagine when the Shannon Foynes Port Authority controls the shipping to the second-deepest water port in Europe at Moneypoint but yet it remains undeveloped.” He feels the estuary is West Clare’s best hope of economic recovery. “The Shannon Estuary …

BECKMAN Coulter intends to expand its operations in O’Callaghan’s Mills by creating a further 105 jobs, as it becomes a second European manufacturing site for one of its medical products. The California-based medical diagnostics company, which manufactures biomedical testing instrument systems, announced plans in 2014 to close its Galway facility, resulting in job losses and a relocation of some staff to the Clare-based plant. However, following announcements last year that it intended to increase its workforce by 80 personnel in Clare, it has now confirmed that it intends to generate a further 105 jobs at the site. Speaking to The Clare Champion, a spokesperson for the company outlined that this expansion is due to growth in one of its product lines, which is called Urinalysis. “This is a secondary manufacturing site for a product called urine test strips, which are used in instruments that detect abnormalities in the urine that might signal that the person has an illness, such as …

THE latest Quarterly National Household Survey figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), show that for the first time since Quarter 4 2008 there are now two million people employed in the State. All regions of the country saw a fall in unemployment in the past year. Since 2012 when the first Action Plan for Jobs was launched 176,000 more people are at work, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Mary Mitchell O’Connor has confirmed. The figures from the CSO also show that there is strong and continued employment growth in all regions of the country. Employment has grown in 12 out of 14 economic sectors, with largest increases recorded in construction, manufacturing and accommodation and food service activities. Speaking today (Tuesday) Minister Mitchell O’Connor said, “These figures from the Central Statistics Office are very encouraging and continue to show that the numbers of people employed in full time jobs is increasing steadily and I am particularly pleased to see …

SHANNON based company Reagecon has announced its intention to create 40 new jobs in the next 12-24 months. It has also targeted annual export revenues of €50 million by 2020. Founded in Shannon 25 years ago it manufactures and exports physical and chemical standards and reagents for laboratories worldwide. The products are developed and manufactured in Shannon and sold through distributors in 150 countries and directly to end users in Ireland and China through Reagecon’s sales offices in Shannon, Co. Clare, Ireland, and Shanghai, China. John Barron, Managing Director and Chairman of Reagecon said that the new jobs form part of “an ambitious programme of scaling”. He confirmed that all of the 40 new jobs, 15 of which have recently been filled, are high value Chemist positions.  The company presently operates from a 64,000 square foot facility in Shannon and employs 86 people, over half of which are scientists. “Since the beginning of 2011, we have developed a major pipeline …

PEPPER Ireland has announced it is creating 50 new job in Shannon and Dublin with an even split between the two sites. The company is looking for experienced workers and graduates with a particular focus on commercial mortgages and real estate. This is the second jobs announcement by Pepper Ireland in the last 18 months and will bring total employment numbers between both plants to approximately 350 by the start of 2016. Commenting on the new roles, CEO of Pepper Ireland Paul Doddrell said, “Pepper has pursued very rapid growth since entering the Irish market and on the back of a number of significant new business wins we’ve been steadily increasing the number of employees in both Shannon and Dublin. “Pepper currently has over €12 billion of assets under management and we have exciting and ambitious plans for business over the next 12 months. We have attracted great talent in Ireland to date. We are delighted to be in a …

The business community in County Clare hosted one of the busiest job shadow events in the country last week. The job shadow initiative promotes inclusive workplaces and equal employment opportunities for people with a disability or illness. A week of activities allows jobseekers to experience different work environments by spending a day working with managers and staff. Helen McQuillan, team leader with EmployAbility Clare was delighted with the way local businesses embraced Job Shadow 2015. “This year, we focused on businesses and work environments that would provide participants with a really good insight into a typical working day and make them feel welcome. The people who took part this year are all active jobseekers, so the job shadow experience is matched to their particular skills and interests,” she explained. First to sign up was TTM Healthcare, an international health and social care recruitment company. Pádraic Hayes spent the day in the company’s busy head office in Ballymaley Business Park in …

ELEMENT Six are taking on another 40 staff in Shannon and say that there is likely to be scope for further growth due to a €25 million capital investment and the relocation of €20 million of assets to the Shannon plant. Five years ago the company announced redundancies and the overall number of Shannon employees dropped to 250. However it has since rebounded to around 360 and is now set to hit 400. Walter Huhn, Chief Executive of Element Six, was in Shannon on Wednesday and he said that the painful cost cutting measures introduced in Shannon have secured the future of the plant, and led to a situation where it is now expanding again. “We started the restructuring in Shannon five years ago with a very clear focus on what we wanted to achieve, what we had to achieve because the global market was changing and the competitive environment was changing. We had to be even more of a …