The ailing labour market was boosted yesterday when US manufacturing group Ingersoll-Rand announced it is to base its global export sales headquarters in the Republic, creating 200 jobs and generating annual revenues of €3 billion within two years.
Ingersoll will centralise the export sales and service trading divisions of its multiple subsidiaries, including the Bobcat, Club Car and Thermo King brands, at a campus in Swords, north county Dublin, the company said.
The move was hailed by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, as confirmation that the Republic remained attractive to multinational corporations despite the economy's waning competitiveness.
His vigorous defence of the State's capacity to woo investors came at the close of a mixed week for the labour market. News that the unemployment rate is inching towards the 5 per cent watershed was offset by the announcement that Israel pharmaceuticals group Taro is to create 300 jobs in Tipperary.
Trumpeting Ingersoll's decision to locate in Ireland as "a fantastic endorsement of the people and business infrastructure in this country", Mr Ahern said the Republic was strongly placed to win further investment in 2003.
"The decision of Ingersoll-Rand to locate its new entity in Dublin... demonstrates Ireland's strength in continuing to attract major multinational companies in a competitive global environment," he said.
The bulk of the positions will be in management and administration, in line with IDA Ireland's policy of cultivating "high-value" jobs requiring graduate-level staff. Manufacturing hit a slump last year as companies sought cheaper labour in eastern Europe and central America and the IDA is wary of courting players in this sector.
The Swords campus will oversee export sales policy throughout the group, which employs 55,000 across 120 locations. Ingersoll stressed the importance of the investment as it seeks to integrate services and trim overheads.
"Considered in the decision to locate here were the positive previous and current experience of doing business in Ireland and the long-standing support provided by IDA Ireland," said Mr John Quayle, managing director of Ingersoll-Rand Ireland. "These factors, coupled with the experienced and often multi-lingual labour force, combined to make a compelling influence in choosing Ireland."
Ingersoll employs 500 at its Thermo King plant in Galway and service parts warehouse in Shannon. Established in New York more than 100 year ago and headquartered in the Bermudas, the group is an S&P 500 firm with annual revenues in excess of $10 billion (€9.3 billion).
Meanwhile, Taro on Tuesday said it would locate its European manufacturing base in the former Miza Ireland factory at Roscrea, Co Tipperary, creating 300 jobs over five years.
Unemployment data issued on Thursday backed analysts' forecasts that the jobless rate would breach 5 per cent by the end of the year.
The national quarterly household survey - considered the most accurate barometer of the state of the labour force - revealed numbers out of work rose half a point to 4.5 per cent in the final quarter of 2002.
