Tag Archives: jobs

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 …

The Minister for Jobs, Innovation and Enterprise Mary Mitchell O’Connor has met with the Mid West Action Plan for Jobs Implementation Committee to discuss the future of the plan to deliver more jobs for the entire region. A half-day workshop has taken place in Limerick with representatives of the state’s development agencies (IDA and Enterprise Ireland), local authorities (Clare County Council, Limerick City and County Council, Tipperary County Council), Education Bodies (Limerick Clare ETB, LIT, MIC, UL), the Limerick and Shannon Chambers of Commerce, and industry representatives from the Manufacturing, IT, Financial Services, Agrifood and Tourism sectors all taking part. The Government’s Action Plan for Jobs is an initiative where government and industry collaborate to improve the environment for enterprise to grow, and jobs to be created. The purpose of the half-day workshop was to review achievements to date and to explore options for future initiatives. Chairperson of the Implementation Committee Barry O’Sullivan from Johnson & Johnson outlined that the …

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 …

CREATING the environment to deliver an additional 4,000 jobs in Clare over the next five years is one of the ambitious targets set by the Clare County Council chief, Pat Dowling. Next Monday, Mr Dowling officially starts his seven-year term, with the possibility of a three-year extension, as the council’s new chief executive officer. In an exclusive interview with The Clare Champion, Mr Dowling has outlined a number of key economic objectives, which will help to transform the county, if they are successfully implemented during his term of office. Asked if he feels the target of 4,000 is achievable, Mr Dowling said that, while it is ambitious, “If you don’t go for it, you don’t get there.” He added, “Tipperary thought that Kilkenny were favourites to win the All-Ireland title but they annihilated them. Clare has to do the same. Clare has to show it can punch above its weight in the region. Instead of saying Clare is not getting …

APPROXIMATELY 50 staff of West Clare Early Years, whose headquarters is located at Glebe House in Crawford Street Kilrush, have been told today (Saturday) that they are being laid off. Come Monday morning up to 400 families will now have no childcare. The centre in Kilrush and outreach centres in Kildysart, Kilkee, Lissycasey and Kilmihil will close with immediate effect. This closure is a devastating blow to the West Clare region, given the size of the workforce and the significance of the service to families in the area. The West Clare Family Resource Centre has called a public meeting for Monday at 7.30pm in Kilrush Community Centre to deal with the fall out from the development. “We’ll be gathering on Monday evening to work out a campaign and to call upon local and national politicians to take fast action to guarantee our children aren’t left without good quality care,” Mary O’Donoghue, Co-ordinator of the West Clare Family Resource Centre in …

Clare County Council will close the Westbury Area Office in southeast Clare when the present lease expires next month. The closure will not result in any job losses as staff working in Westbury will be redeployed to other positions in the council. The decision not to renew the lease follows an examination of the level of activities at the Area Office which has identified that in 2015 the majority of the contacts, either through personal callers or telephone calls, were in relation to motor tax transactions and primarily to renew motor tax online. Excluding motor tax, a total of 400 contacts were made with the office throughout 2015. This equates to less than 10 contacts per week. The council said it is “conscious that with advances in phone technology in particular, access to online facilities is now much greater than when online access facilities were initiated at the office. An increasing number of people are renewing motor tax on-line in …

The latest official unemployment figures from the Central Statistics Office, show a continuing fall in the number of people unemployed. The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton has welcomed the figured, published today (Tuesday) which show the unemployment rate at 8.9% in November 2015, and the total number of people unemployed at 191,700, down 32,100 on the same month a year ago. Minister Bruton said,“Our very top priority since we took office as a Government is creating jobs and reducing unemployment. Since we launched out Action Plan for Jobs in February 2012, more than 135,000 extra people are at work across the country. Every region is now growing jobs. Today’s figures confirm that this job-creation is continuing to have an impact on the number of people unemployed. “However the figures also show that there is no room for complacency. The closer we get to full employment, the more difficult it is to continue to ensure that the jobs …

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 …