Software manufacturer RAND Worldwide, of Canada, will be the first investor to move in to the technology and business park in Clonakilty, Co Cork, the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Mr Walsh, has announced.
During the next three years, the company will create 75 jobs in the park, which is almost completed. While the figure is small in comparative terms, RAND's choice will boost the international marketing effort to attract up to 2,500 jobs to Clonakilty in the next five years.
Mr Ian Dempsey, of the West Cork Leader Co-operative, which first proposed the park, said yesterday that the IDA's job in finding further investors would be made much easier because of the presence of a prestigious company such as RAND.
The £20 million (€25.3 million) park will be finished by next December, will have 15 units and a floor space of 280,000 sq ft. It is expected to play a significant part in the already flourishing economy of one of west Cork's busiest towns.
Mr Walsh said the technology and business park would suit a range of business users including software development, data processing, health care manufacturing as well as research and development and call centres. RAND Worldwide provides information technology to a wide range of business institutions.
It is expected that recruitment of its new workforce will begin immediately and that more than 90 per cent of the jobs will be graduate-based.
Already RAND has established a European services centre at the Citywest business campus in Dublin with the support of the IDA and within three years, 100 jobs will be created there.
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