Google searches for 230 workers
Irish weather a hit with internet giant as it unveils plans for €75m data centre
BILLIONS of internet searches around the world will be powered by a new €75m data centre to be built in Dublin by technology giant Google.
Our mild climate has encouraged Google to follow Amazon and Microsoft and build the data centre here. The lack of extreme fluctuations in temperatures makes it cheaper to operate the buildings in Ireland than many other locations.
The data centres will house row upon row of computer equipment that will generate a substantial amount of heat. Keeping the temperature low inside the building, while keeping energy costs down, is a major headache for technology companies.
At yesterday's announcement -- attended by Jobs Minister Richard Bruton and Google Ireland head John Herlihy -- it was revealed the new complex will result in 200 construction jobs and create 30 full-time jobs. The investment was one of three separate projects unveiled around the country yesterday that together will create more than 200 jobs across five years.
Google has purchased two adjoining warehouses in Clondalkin, west Dublin, which it will fit out over the next year to make it one of the most energy-efficient data centres in the world.
The 4,000sqm warehouses were on the market with property company Savills with a €7m price tag. The buildings will be converted by Dublin-based engineering firm PM Group and BAM Contractors over the next year.
In Tralee, a subsidiary of the large Japanese bank Sumitomo Mitsui, JRI America, revealed it would create 100 hi-tech jobs at a software development operation at the Kerry Technology Park. JRI America said it was shifting its software development operation from Bangalore in India to Tralee and would hire staff over the next five years. The Tralee office will support the group's IT operations in the US, the UK and Dubai.
IDA Ireland said it was delighted such a prestigious financial company had decided to set up in Ireland. "This is a very significant investment in Ireland by a major Japanese bank, which will create a substantial number of highly skilled positions in a hub location under the national spatial strategy, which is an important regional target for IDA," it said.
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Sumitomo Mitsui, Japan's second-largest bank, employs 61,555 people worldwide.
Meanwhile, another Kerry company -- Killorglin-based financial services firm Fexco -- is to create 60 jobs in its new online global business service for the Government.
The announcement coincides with the availability of the Certificate of Irish Heritage, which became available online yesterday. Fexco operates the certificate service on behalf of the Government, and secured the contract on a one-year pilot basis, which is extendable to five years.
Over 70 million people worldwide who claim Irish ancestry are eligible to apply for the certificate, which costs €40.
However, there was bad news for the 100-strong workforce at Wexford-based company Carl Zeiss Vision, which yesterday revealed it was moving its manufacturing and supply chain operation to China with the loss of 82 jobs. But 18 workers will be kept on in sales and support roles.
Elsewhere, workers at Dublin SPCA, the country's oldest animal welfare organisation, were yesterday told that the company may be seeking redundancies from among its 40 employees.
A 30-day consultation process with staff has now begun. Jimmy Cahill, chief executive of the Dublin SPCA, said that the charity was experiencing an increased demand for its services at the same time as donations had fallen by 20pc.
- John Mulligan, Majella O'Sullivan and Conor Cullen
Irish Independent
