Taoiseach Brian Cowen TD today announced that PayPal, the payment system unit of online auction giant eBay, plans an investment of more than €15 million, supported by IDA Ireland, in what is termed a European Centre for Operational Excellence, which will result in the creation of up to 35 highly-skilled jobs in Operational Excellence and Business Analytics at its facility in Ballycoolin, Blanchardstown, Dublin.
PayPal has designated the Dublin Centre as PayPal’s first regional centre of excellence and the model for PayPal’s international operations worldwide. PayPal employs around 900 people at its Dublin Centre.
The Taoiseach, performing the official opening of the new Centre for Operational Excellence, said “The opening of this Centre and the addition of the new highly skilled jobs is a positive boost for this sector, and the Irish Government commends PayPal for continuing to offer excellent career opportunities to the Dublin community and for its continued dedication to the Irish market. This investment illustrates that Ireland has the capability and the capacity to continue to attract overseas investment during the current global economic climate.
I would like to assure PayPal that it has my Government’s and IDA Ireland’s support as it grows and further embeds its operations here. Ireland will continue to invest heavily in education to ensure a supply of skilled, multilingual graduates in order to assist companies, such as PayPal, to develop and grow their businesses here. For the continued success of existing operations in Ireland it is extremely important that companies have or put in place an agenda to constantly increase their strategic importance within their parent company. Today’s developments by PayPal demonstrate this agenda perfectly.”
Scott Thompson, president of PayPal added, “We’ve grown significantly since we first opened our doors in Ireland in 2003, supporting our growing European business and the millions of customers who live in this region. This growth is testament to the wonderful collaboration we’ve received from the Irish government and the talent of our employees here in Ireland, both of which have been critical to our past success and our future growth plans.”
To support the new Dublin Centre, PayPal will invest more than €15 million to train employees and optimise operations to meet the needs of PayPal’s growing European customer base. Additionally, PayPal will enhance its Dublin workforce with new business processes and regional intelligence positions such as business analytics, product design, risk management, information technology, operations and merchant services.
Cowen concluded “Ireland is becoming renowned as a location for the most important digital media and Internet-based companies, with many of the world leaders in the sector now located in Ireland. This additional PayPal commitment to Ireland is an excellent further endorsement of IDA Ireland’s strategy to grow and develop the digital enterprise cluster here in Ireland.”
