IDA Ireland's client compares are "well on the way" to meeting, their target of creating 31,000 new jobs over the next three years, according to the agency's chief executive, Mr Kieran McGowan.

IDA Ireland's target of supporting the creation of 31,000 new jobs by 1998, which represents a 22 per cent increase on the previous goal, may even be revised upwards at the end of this year to account for the buoyant level of, foreign investment.

Mr McGowan, who was speaking at the launch of IDA Ireland's annual report for 1995, said foreign owned companies should create at least 11,500 new jobs this year, matching last year's record performance. However after closures and job losses last year there was a net increase of 6,600 jobs.

So far this year, IDA Ireland backed firms have announced almost 6,000 new jobs, while today's IBM announcement of 750 new jobs brings that total close to 7,000. Mr McGowan said the electronics and services sectors continued to be the main areas of growth for companies supported by the agency.

However, while foreign companies are likely to continue to create more than 10,000 new jobs each year in the medium term, the nature of those jobs will change, according to Mr McGowan.

He said that, while the rapidly expanding technology sector would slow down to more normal levels of growth, there would be "a substantial increase" in the services sector.

This should be boosted by the trend for mature multinational firms to re-examine and reorganise their European operations which will lead to the centralisation of many activities.

"Europe is a single market and companies are now slimming drown their individual operations in many countries to just sales and marketing" according to Mr McGowan.

The IDA Ireland annual report shows that at the end of last year 89,480 people were employed on a full time basis by foreign owned companies operating in the State. A further 11,034 were employed either on a temporary or contract basis.

US companies account for 63 per cent of all jobs on the ground. IDA Ireland paid £95 million in grants to client companies last year, while foreign owned companies paid an estimated £450 million in corporation tax during the same 12 month period.

"Ireland is not immune to the pressures of open market competition and must expect, and accept a certain level of negative as well as positive change in the numbers employed by individual companies." Mr McGowan said.