Taoiseach Brian Cowen has announced that Citi, one of the world’s largest finance houses, is to base its new e-banking centre in Ireland.
Mr Cowen made the announcement this afternoon as he toured Citi’s headquarters in New York on the final leg of his three-day trip.
The €35 million investment in next generation technology will create 30 highly skilled jobs at the bank’s Dublin hub.
The Taoiseach said Citi had built up a flagship Irish presence in the IFSC and made a significant contribution to the economy through salaries, services and corporation tax.
“The company has been a pioneer of our financial services industry in Ireland and has made an outstanding contribution to the economy over the years,” he said.
“It is an excellent example of a financial services company which has succeeded in replacing many lower-level roles with higher-value added positions,” he added.
The Taoiseach said the e-banking initiative will be a huge boost for Citi’s Irish operations as well as for the banking industry globally. Citi said the new HQ, supported by IDA Ireland, would form part of its research, development and innovation base in Dublin and build a new centre of technology excellence.
Jobs created will include project managers, technology architects, business analysts and software/hardware engineers.
Some 2,200 people work in Citi’s Irish operations.
Tonight Mr Cowen will deliver a speech on the future of Ireland’s relationship with the United States when he attends the Wall Street 50 Dinner in New York as guest of honour.
In the address, he will point to the transformation of the Irish economy in the last few years and stress the Government’s determination to ensure the opportunities created benefit future generations.
Mr Cowen will reflect on Irish-US relationships and the power and influence of the Irish diaspora.
He is also attending an event hosted by Tourism Ireland to promote American visits to this country.
Mr Cowen told guests the relationship between Ireland and the United States is "as strong and close as it is rooted and proud".
"It has often been described as unique. I believe that the United States and Ireland will always enjoy an indelible bond shaped by the legacy of countless immigrants who built and cherished their new home but who never forgot the land of their ancestors," Mr Cowen said.
He said the peace and prosperity now enjoyed on the island of Ireland "would simply not have happened without the support of the United States".
"The Irish Government values deeply the commitment of successive US Presidents, our friends in the Democratic and Republican parties and Irish America to the peace process and their determination to consolidate the wonderful successes of the past year in Northern Ireland."
Tourism Ireland said today that American visitors stay longer and spend more per head than most other nationalities. "They spend approximately 60 per cent more than the average visitor, accounting for almost one in every five euro spent here."
"The island of Ireland enjoyed record visitor numbers from the US last year, reaching almost one million visitors, despite the unfolding credit crisis in the US in the second half of 2007," the body said in a statement.
Tourism Ireland is running a marketing campaign this year with the tagline “Ireland – can you afford not to go?”
Mr Cowen also hosted a reception for the Abbey and Gate theatres, both of which have productions running in New York.
Yesterday, speaking at the New York Stock Exchange, the Taoiseach insisted Ireland remains one of the best locations in the world for foreign investment despite the current downturn.
Additional reporting: PA