Oracle, the world's second-largest software company, has announced a new e-business centre in Dublin, which will act as the financial processing hub for Oracle's European, Middle Eastern and African (EMEA) operations and its clients.

The e-business centre, which went live in the summer, is part of an 18-month drive by Oracle to save $1 billion (€968.80 million) by exploiting the Internet to transform its business. It will place the Republic at the centre of Oracle's worldwide operations.

Some 400 new jobs will be created at the e-business centre at the East Point Business Park, bringing Oracle's total Irish jobs tally close to 1,000 employees. Almost 100 of the new jobs have already been filled and a further 300 will follow in the next 24 months. The new jobs are mainly in the accounting, purchasing, licensing and expenses fields.

The e-business centre will enable Oracle staff, clients and customers across 35 countries in the EMEA area to access each other via a central processing site which is expected to produce significant cost savings.

The company is actively seeking Irish people with language skills, especially in French, German, Italian and Spanish.

Executive vice-president for Oracle Europe, Mr Pier Carlo Falotti, said recruitment would not be possible "tomorrow morning" because their weren't enough people to fill the posts.

However, he said, the quality and enthusiasm of people in the Republic and the availability of infrastructure were major factors in the decision to invest in Ireland. "This is the place where the will has been to evolve and change," he added.

Mr Falotti presented the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, with a "virtual cheque" to the value of £5,000, which will go towards equipping a local school, St Joseph's Primary, with Internet equipment and training staff. Mr Ahern also received a blue football shirt with his name written on the back.

Speaking at a reception to announce the project, Mr Ahern said he was delighted that Oracle had chosen Ireland as the location of choice for software companies in Ireland and for ebusiness. "The Government is fully committed to electronic commerce, which we see as an integral driver of future economic growth and industrial development," he added.

On the topic of the labour shortage, Mr Ahern said Ireland was better placed than most of its European partners because of its young population, which is growing three times as quickly as most other European countries.

With the economy currently growing at close to 10 per cent, there were bound to be shortfalls in labour, he said, but it was unlikely this level of growth would continue. A figure of 4 per cent growth was more likely in the longer term, mirroring growth in the labour market, he added. He said the challenge was not so much the numbers of people required in the future, but how these people were skilled. He said the Government was providing more places at third-level institutions and encouraging greater research and development.

Mr Nicky Sheridan, the shared services director at the Dublin site, said recruiting staff would be less of a problem than holding on to them in two or three years time. Therefore, Oracle would provide ongoing training and investment in people's careers to try to retain staff.

He said most of the jobs would be aimed at Irish people, but that the company would look to eastern Europe for employees who speak more "exotic languages".

The IDA has provided grants to date worth £1.5 million to Oracle and the present investment will also be grant-aided by the development agency.