Up to 150 skilled jobs will be created by the management consulting firm Accenture in Dublin before the end of the year. The US company, which already employs 800 in Dublin, said the new jobs were being created in response to a demand for technology services.
Accenture will recruit staff for positions in the field of software development, Web services, business process, IT outsourcing and application management.
Mr Leo Blennerhassett, Accenture's managing director for Ireland, said the firm had also begun exploring the possibility of expanding its software unit in a regional location. But it was too early to say which areas Accenture might move to.
He said Accenture had grown in the five separate markets it operates within the Republic including the utility, government and technology sector. "But we are still cautious about growth and are creating jobs as a reaction to demand that we already have," said Mr Blennerhassett.
The 150 new jobs are a significant boost for the indigenous technology consulting sector following hundreds of job losses at a rival British firm, Logica CMG.
Accenture already has its European shared service centre in Dublin which will now expand to manage the company's global procurement function. This will create new jobs in finance, administration and IT support.
Accenture will receive no new grant aid from IDA Ireland to support the new positions. Since the firm located an operation in Dublin in 1987, it has received about €6.5 million in Government employment grants.
The Tánaiste, Ms Harney, welcomed the jobs announcement yesterday which coincided with a meeting with senior Accenture's executives in Chicago.
"Clearly, over the last number of months, many companies including Accenture have taken the decision that Ireland is a location where they will see potential for growth," said Ms Harney.
Accenture is one of the world's biggest consulting firms and currently employs about 75,000 people in 47 countries.
The company generated net revenues of $1.6 billion (1.45 billion) for the fiscal year ended August 31st, 2002.
The most recent results filed by Accenture's shared service centre in the Republic show it generated revenue worth £22.8 million in the year to August 2001, up from £17.8 million a year earlier.
Pre-tax profit increased to £1.3 million, up from £900,000.
Enterprise Rent-A-Car, a US-based car rental firm, said yesterday it would open a further five Irish offices this year and recruit an additional 30 staff.
The firm, which set up an Irish operation in 1997, said it enjoyed its busiest month ever in the Republic in November 2002 with more than 1,000 cars rented.
The firm has 16 offices and employs 120 staff in the Republic.
