Quinn Direct, Seán Quinn's insurance company, will today announce 1,000 new jobs for three locations in the Republic.
Most of the new positions will be located in Navan, Co Meath, where Quinn Direct is planning 700 new jobs over the coming five years.
The remaining expansion will be split between Co Cavan and Blanchardstown, Co Dublin, where the company has been established for some years.
Today's investment, backed by Enterprise Ireland, reflects Quinn Direct's growth in the UK, where the company began operations in 2004. Earlier this year, the firm began selling commercial insurance from its base in Manchester, adding to its existing personal offerings.
It is also possible the new staff will be used to help the company expand more into continental Europe, where its existing operations tend to be limited to insurance work for its UK clients.
The expansion in Navan, Cavan and Blanchardstown will bring Quinn Direct's workforce close to 2,500.
It currently employs more than 600 people in Cavan and more than 400 in both Blanchardstown and Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh.
It is thought the new posts will deal with back-office insurance matters, including claims processing and finance. The new office at Navan will be based at Navan Business Park, with the investment likely to be seen as a coup for the Meath town.
A spokeswoman for Enterprise Ireland declined to comment on Quinn Direct's plans yesterday, apart from confirming Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin would make an announcement in Navan today.
Quinn Direct was also unable to comment.
No details of the amount being invested by Quinn and Enterprise Ireland were available but the sum is expected to be very substantial.
Quinn Direct has grown enormously from a standing start in 1995, and is now the third-biggest insurer in the Republic. At the end of June, the firm had 420,000 customers, with profits for the first half of this year standing at €123 million, up 38 per cent on a year earlier.
The company is fully owned by Fermanagh-based Mr Quinn and his family, who control an empire that spans cement, glass, radiators, stockbroking and property. Forbes magazine in the US has put Mr Quinn's wealth at €1.9 billion.
