Software firm Sentenial to create 110 jobs

Irish financial technology firm Sentenial is to hire 110 new staff over the next 14 months following increased demand for the company's payment technology. Some 80 of these positions will be in Ireland.

The news follows another jobs announcement by marketing agency Acorn which is to create 100 new roles in Dublin to assist its EMEA-based clients and service the firm’s offices in London, Sydney and Paris.

However, 80 jobs are to be lost at Mayo-based company Homecare Medical Supplies, following the termination of a Health Service Executive contract. The firm has been forced to axe 50 positions in Kiltimagh and 15 in Ballyhaunis, following the loss of a HSE contract for the recycling of aids and appliances.

A further 15 staff at Homecare service centres in other parts of the country will also be made redundant.

'Significant impact'
Fianna Fáil spokesperson on jobs Dara Calleary said the job losses come as a "terrible blow" to staff in the run up to Christmas. "The loss of these jobs will unfortunately have a significant impact on the local economy, at a time when the east Mayo region can least afford it," he added. The job losses are understood to affect a large proportion of the company's workforce.

Sentenial founder and chief executive Seán Fitzgerald said the addition of the 110 staff will help support the rapid growth experienced at the company in 2013 and the pipeline of opportunities in coming months. The firm currently employs 160 staff in Ireland, having added 100 people in the past 12 months. The new jobs will be filled by the end of 2014, with 30 to be advertised before Christmas, he said.

Acorn, which currently employs 100 people, is recruiting IT, management, human resources and finance roles for its Dublin office. "We plan over the next five years to recruit 100 new employees in a variety of skills, from creative to account management to IT and HR," said Acorn chief executive Phil Cottier.

The company said it was also seeking to identify additional space to accommodate its growth.

Delivery hub
Acorn was acquired by Epsilon, an Alliance Data division in 2012, and has designated the Dublin team as the creative services delivery hub for all markets outside North America for Epsilon.

Welcoming the announcement, IDA Ireland chief executive Barry O'Leary said: "Creative companies like Acorn are exporting ideas, developed in Dublin, across the world."

He said Epsilon’s decision to centralise key functions into its Dublin office is a move being taken by many IDA clients.