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The Irish
Independent reports that with almost 3,000 people set to be employed directly by
PayPal and many more jobs being supported indirectly, Louise Phelan is now
arguably the single most influential woman working in Irish business.
Yesterday's announcement represents a major triumph for Ms Phelan, the
electronic payment group's vice-president for global operations.
Her decisions will influence the livelihoods of thousands of people in
Blanchardstown and Dundalk.
A native of the Co Laois village of Donaghmore, where her brother Brendan is a
local Fianna Fail councillor, Ms Phelan has been with PayPal since June 2006.
She joined PayPal from GE Money, formerly Woodchester Investments.
In her 16 years with Woodchester/GE she occupied various roles, including that
of head of compliance for the group.
She was also a director of the Ombudsman of Credit Institutions of Ireland.
Before joining Woodchester, Ms Phelan spent two years with confectionery firm
Mars Ireland.
Ms Phelan was promoted to be PayPal senior director of global customer services
and EU merchant services in 2009 and assumed her current position in 2011.
PayPal has had an Irish presence at Blanchardstown, Co Dublin since 2003. In
February of last year it announced the creation of 200 new jobs and followed
this up with a second announcement, creating a further 200 new jobs, last
August.
Yesterday's announcement, which will see 1,000 additional jobs being created in
Dundalk, will bring PayPal's total Irish headcount up to almost 3,000 people,
making it one of the largest multinational employers in the state.
The fact that the PayPal announcement is the largest single IDA-backed job
creation announcement since the beginning of the economic downturn in 2008 gives
some indication of the significance of yesterday's good news.
After years of unrelenting bad news coming out of Ireland, the PayPal
announcement signals loud and clear that Ireland is still open for business.
In her spare time, Ms Phelan organises an annual triathlon for the cancer
charity Tri-To-Beat Cancer.
The Irish
Independent also reports that the retail arm of Bord Gais is expected to be
among the state assets listed for sale today. Last night, the cabinet finally
agreed on a list of assets that will be sold off and how the sales will be
managed over the coming years.
It is understood that the sale of the most valuable commercial semi-state
utility company -- the ESB -- has been taken off the table. However, it is
expected that between €2bn and €3bn of state assets will be put on the market.
The Government has to sell off state assets under the terms of the EU-IMF
bailout.
However, the Government has insisted it will not engage in a "firesale"
with assets sold at knock-down prices.
The Government recently secured an agreement that part of the proceeds from the
sale of state assets could be used for job creation measures -- with the
remainder used to reduce the state's national debt.
It is not yet known what percentage of any proceeds from the sale can be
retained for job creation.
It agreed to draw up an "ambitious" list of sales.
Speculation about the inclusion of Bord Gais Energy's retail division --
estimated to be worth between €1bn and €1.4bn -- mounted yesterday when its
chief executive John Mullins visited Government Buildings on the same day as the
cabinet met to finalise its decision.
Sources said Bord Gais Energy's senior managers were briefed that the
announcement of a sale of non-network assets was imminent.
It is feared that a sale of the retail division to UK firm Centrica could lead
to job losses among its 485 staff, as many of its functions may be outsourced.
"Bord Gais Energy may only need 80 to 100 staff if its work was transferred
to the UK," said a source.
It is understood that the ESB will not be among the assets offered for sale, and
no sales have yet been agreed.
The exact details will be announced today by Public Expenditure Minister Brendan
Howlin.
A government spokesman said the list being published today was not final.
Last week, Minister for Energy Pat Rabbitte said he would be in favour of
selling part of the Bord Gais Energy if it attracted a big player.
Sources said the retail division -- which is responsible for billing customers
-- had been "packaged up" for a sale.
"The windfarm network, which is part of it, was bulked up with the purchase
of the SWS windfarm about a year-and-a-half ago," they said.
Workers at Bord Gais expected an announcement yesterday regarding the sale, as
communication sessions had been organised with staff.
They said they had been told by line managers that they would be consulted if a
change of ownership was planned.
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The Irish Times reports that
Taoiseach Enda Kenny will travel to Berlin tomorrow evening for talks with
Chancellor Angela Merkel about the long-term future of the European Union.
The meeting takes place in the wake of final
agreement on the second Greek bailout, with the focus turning to the
ratification of the fiscal compact treaty.
Mr Kenny will join two other EU prime ministers for the discussion with the
chancellor at Schloss Meseberg, the official German government guesthouse,
outside Berlin.
The Czech prime minister Petr Necas and the prime minister of Latvia, Valdis
Dombrovskis, have also been invited to the meeting as part of a series of talks
involving the German chancellor and other EU leaders.
A Government spokesman said last night that the discussions would focus on the
long-term vision for Europe once the current crisis has been overcome.
He added that the leaders would discuss how Europe can avoid a repeat of the
problems that have bedevilled the EU for the past two years.
One of the issues the four leaders will address is how a more co-ordinated
approach at EU level can help in that endeavour. “The focus will be on how we
can avoid getting into this position again and in that context the fiscal
compact is relevant,” added the spokesman.
The process to be adopted in Ireland for the ratification of the fiscal compact
will not feature in the discussions as Attorney General Maire Whelan has not yet
advised the Government on whether a referendum is necessary.
After the talks, which will be followed by dinner at Schloss Meseberg, Mr Kenny
will travel on to Rome for a meeting with the Italian prime minister, Mario
Monti, on Friday morning.
Mr Monti, like Mr Kenny, has emphasised the need for the EU to move on from the
focus on austerity to agreement on policies that will promote economic growth in
the years ahead.
Mr Kenny’s talks with the German chancellor come in the wake of a long-delayed
deal on a second EU-IMF bailout for Greece, which was agreed early yesterday
morning after 13 hours of talks between finance ministers.
While the bailout will see the European Central Bank and national central banks
forgo profits on their Greek bonds, economics commissioner Olli Rehn and the
Irish Government ruled out any similar measures for Ireland. When asked whether
such measures might be necessary to ensure the sustainability of Ireland’s debt
Mr Rehn replied: “No, it is not”.
The Commissioner added: “I repeat and I will keep on repeating. Greece is a
specific case which will not be repeated in case of other euro area countries.”
Minister of State for Finance Brian Hayes, who represented the Government in the
talks, appeared to take a different approach.
Asked if the Government should seek the return of profits the ECB makes on its
holdings of Irish bonds, Mr Hayes had said “these are all issues that are
part of the mix.” However, a Government spokeswoman said later that the
Greek deal was unique to Greece. “Minister Hayes confirmed that Ireland is in
discussions on the [Anglo Irish Bank] promissory notes and that Ireland is not
seeking a deal from the ECB to forgo profits on Government bonds as was agreed
with Greece,” she said.
In London last night, President Michael D Higgins gave a detailed explanation of
the steps that he would take if the Government decided not to hold a referendum
on the fiscal treaty.
“My consideration is as to whether there is an issue of constitutional
significance raised,” he said, adding that “if there is” he would
call a meeting of the Council of State.
“They offer an opinion. When that is over, I thank them for their opinion and
I go and make my mind up as to whether I should refer it to the Supreme Court.”
He noted there “is a problem with such a move” because under Article 26
of the Constitution it closes off the opportunity for any other citizen ever to
challenge the legislation.
“I am not at that point; the legislation has not been introduced,” said
Mr Higgins. He added he was concerned that the concept of a shared union under
the EU’s founding treaties had been lost.
That, he said, was very different to an accommodation between currencies that
had to face pressures from “speculative forces”, he said.
The President was speaking after an address at the London School of Economics.
The Irish Times also reports
that in the first jobs announcement of such a scale in many years, global online
payments firm PayPal, which is owned by eBay, announced yesterday that is to
create 1,000 jobs in Dundalk, Co Louth.
Recruitment will commence in July with 300 people
to be employed by the end of the year. This will bring the company’s total
employment in Ireland up to 2,400 by 2016, making it one of the largest internet
employers in the country.
Louise Phelan, a vice-president of global
operations for PayPal, said the expansion was necessary to support the double
digit growth the Irish operations were experiencing.
PayPal is in “final negotiations” with
three different office facilities, said Ms Phelan, and a decision will be taken
shortly on where PayPal will locate in Dundalk.
Barry O’Leary, chief executive of the IDA, which
will support PayPal’s investment, yesterday welcomed the announcement, noting
that it had been a couple of years since a jobs announcement of such a size was
announced, but that the IDA has plenty more projects in its pipeline – albeit
not of a similar scale.
The new operation will be PayPal’s third in
Ireland, complementing its existing locations in Dublin. The new centre in
Dundalk will be responsible for customer service, risk prevention, financial
operations, merchant services and sales across Europe, the Middle East and
Africa (EMEA).
According to Ms Phelan, the new recruits
will work on creating the “future of money”.
“Our vision is to help people pay for things
anytime, anywhere and on any type of electronic device.”
She said the new jobs may be open to both
graduates and those currently unemployed, but 50 per cent of the roles will
require knowledge of a second language.
When asked whether there were any risk
factors which might preclude the actual creation of 1,000 jobs, Ms Phelan said
“absolutely not”.
PayPal had also considered Limerick as a location
for the new operation with the company reported to have considered computer
giant Dell’s old plant in Raheen.
Ms Phelan said the company had considered many
locations in Europe and Ireland, but opted for Ireland due to the “talent”
available.
Dundalk was an attractive option due to its
proximity to PayPal’s existing management team in Blanchardstown, she said.
PayPal opened its Irish operation with 25 staff
in 2003. It expanded significantly in the interim, and last year invested €15
million in a centre of excellence in Blanchardstown, Dublin.
Globally, PayPal has been growing at a blistering
pace, with plans to double its revenue to about $7 billion by 2013.
While it is currently introducing PayPal as a
payments method into stores, competition is heating up from the likes of Google,
as well as credit card operators such as Visa.
ICT Ireland, the business group that represents
the high-tech sector, welcomed yesterday’s announcement.
Director Paul Sweetman revealed that 1,715 jobs
have been announced in the tech sector since the beginning of 2012, while 4,000
were announced in the whole of 2011.
The American Chamber of Commerce Ireland said
yesterday that US companies have created over 2,000 new jobs in Ireland since
the start of the year.
The Irish Examiner reports
that thee ESB recorded a sharp decline in profits in the first half of last
year.
Profits at the dominant provider in the Irish
electricity market fell 40% from €112.6m to €87.7m for six months ending on June
30.
Finance costs rose after ESB finalised the acquisition of the Northern Ireland
Electricity business in late 2010, which impacted negatively on ESB’s ability to
generate profits.
The results came just weeks after Pat Rabbitte, the minister for communications,
energy & natural resources, confirmed that the Government is considering plans
to sell a stake in the ESB.
The decision to sell state assets despite adverse market conditions was made
after the Government won approval to use some of the proceeds of a sale of state
infrastructure to invest in the economy, as well as pay down debt.
Mr Rabbitte has insisted that the Government will not participate in any "firesales".
Revenues from ESB Electric Ireland, which is considered to be the most likely
arm of the ESB to be sold off, have fallen from €947m to €801m this year.
The transmission network, which it is argued should not be sold as it is a vital
piece of state infrastructure, was the most profitable part of the ESB group.
ESB Networks had an operating profit of €120m.
The ESB group which includes ESB Networks, ESB Energy International and Northern
Ireland Electricity, recorded a strong growth in revenue. The groups revenue
increased from €1.35bn to €1.38bn. Operating profits for the group grew strongly
as operating costs across the group fell by €37m. There was also a reduction in
operational losses at Electric Ireland falling from a loss of €32m to €13m.
ESB continues to pay an impressive wage bill, meaning the company’s payroll was
a significant operational cost last year. Employees received €248m in salaries,
an increase of €15m on last year.
ESB is also obliged t to pay out significant pension contributions until 2021.
The figures released yesterday reveal a pension deficit of €895.4m at the end of
June, a slightly improved situation from €896.7m at the end of 2010.
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