26th March 2013
Taoiseach Enda Kenny T.D. today announced that Zurich Insurance Group, a leading global insurer, is to establish two IT hubs in Dublin with the creation of 112 new hi-tech, high-value jobs. The IT hubs represent an exciting and innovative approach to IT service management and security for Zurich in Europe and globally. The investment is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through IDA Ireland.
The two new IT hubs will provide services to the Zurich businesses globally and in Europe. One hub will support Zurich’s IT service management and the other will support Cyber Security Management. Recruitment has already commenced for graduates, senior specialists and management positions covering a wide range of areas from change management to cyber analysts to disaster recovery specialists.
Making the announcement, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said, "The further expansion of Zurich with the creation of 112 new high quality jobs is excellent news for Dublin and Ireland. The Government's Action Plan for Jobs has a specific focus on financial services and the digital industry. The new investment by Zurich in two new IT Hubs demonstrates the value of keeping Ireland at the cutting edge of the expanding digital industry and maintaining our strong financial services industry. The Government is delighted to support a global company like Zurich as it builds on its established European HQ in Dublin. Ireland remains a stable and attractive location for inward investment as we work to improve our competitiveness even further."
Commenting on the announcement, Patrick Manley, CEO of Zurich’s General Insurance segment in Europe said, “Robust IT systems are critical to facilitating fast business decisions and speedy customer delivery. By establishing these hubs we at Zurich can significantly upgrade our IT capabilities and deliver ‘round the clock security monitoring of our IT assets globally. We highly appreciate the support that we receive from IDA Ireland for this project.’’
Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD said: “ICT and financial services are two crucial sectors – often overlapping – which we have targeted for employment growth as part of the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs. One key feature of our approach has been to target sub-sectors such as ICT security where we have particular strengths. ICT alone has created more than 11,000 additional jobs since we have taken office, and I am determined to ensure that we build on this to achieve the level of employment growth we need. Today’s announcement that Zurich, a world-leading financial services company, is locating further facilities in Dublin is great news for the city and for the employment in the ICT sector”.
Barry O’Leary, CEO of IDA Ireland said, ‘Zurich currently employs over 1,000 people in Ireland with the company’s European headquarters for general insurance located in Dublin along with its general insurance and life divisions servicing Irish and cross border markets. Ireland was chosen for this innovative investment due to the success of Zurich’s existing operations here and for our IT and cyber security talent, skills and research capability including the Cybersecurity and Cybercrime Investigation Centre at University College Dublin.’
For further information:
Zurich Ireland: Helen McIver, Head of Communications, Tel: +353 (0)1 2092117, Email: helen.mciver@zurich.com
Zurich Insurance Group: Pavel Osipyants, Senior Media Relations Officer, Tel.: +41 44 6252013, Email: pavel.osipyants@zurich.com
IDA Ireland: Antoinette Tyrrell, Tel: +353 (0) 1 603 4000.
DJEI: DJEI Press Office, Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Tel: +353 (0) 1 631 2200, press.office@djei.ie
ENDS
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