PayPal, which employs 1,500 people at its facility in Blanchardstown, has been awarded the Employer of the Year Award at the 2012 Fingal Business Excellence Awards. The awards, which were hosted by TV personality Marty Whelan at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Santry on Friday last, recognised how highly PayPal values and treats its employees. According to the judges: “ PayPal more than met the criteria for this award – they really value their people and do everything in their power to ensure that each and every employee is treated with respect, dignity and fairness in a creative and innovative atmosphere which celebrates the worth  and contribution of each individual.” Louise…

Zurich has been awarded the 2012 Professional Insurance Brokers Association (PIBA) Service Excellence Award in the General Insurance category. The ceremony took place in Dublin last night. “To win this award for the second year in a row is a fantastic achievement for our team and a great endorsement of our industry-leading service delivery to brokers and their customers,” said Ken Norgrove, chief executive officer, Zurich. The PIBA Annual Survey of more than 420 broker firms across Ireland forms the backdrop to the association’s industry awards and is a key performance indicator of service excellence, measuring the level of customer service provided by Insurers in the marketplace. Karina Corbett

Shares in Petrel Resources have jumped by more 350pc after the Irish Aim-listed oil and gas exploration company announced today that it has identified a target in the South Porcupine Basin of the Irish Atlantic Margin with a billion barrel potential. The target is located on Quad 35 of Petrel’s 100pc owned 11/4 licensing option.  Petrel said the identified targets have been mapped at several levels indicating that they are vertically stacked and would be accessible with one well. According to the company, which is chaired by John Teeling, stacked targets have been mapped at Eocene (Lower Tertiary), Lower Cretaceous and locally Jurassic levels.  This facilitates drilling and testing of…

Over half of retailers have experienced increased levels of crime in the last two years, with €512m of retail stock stolen in 2011, according to a new survey from Retail Ireland. The Ibec group has called for a more pro-active and collaborative approach from Gardai and retailers and said those caught shoplifting should bear the full brunt of the law. In the survey of 33 retail companies, which have over 800 shops and employ over 67,500 people around the country, 52pc said they had experienced an increase in crime in the last two years. Nearly half (49pc) said they have experienced theft of cash from their premises. Eighty-two percent said…

BT Group has announced its results for the second quarter and half-year to 30 September 2012. Profit before tax in the second quarter was �608m – an increase of 7pc – while profit in the half-year was �1,186m, up 8pc. Revenue for the second quarter was up 9pc at �4,474m, while revenue for the half-year was �8,958m, an increase of 7pc. BT Ireland’s revenue increased by 1pc in the period, which also saw the company entering into a wholesale deal to provide Sky with managed voice and broadband services. “We have delivered another solid quarter of growth in profit before tax despite the economic conditions and regulatory impacts,” said chief…

Kilkenny Group is creating 60 new jobs in its shops throughout the country and its online store. The new positions will bring the number of staff employed in the Irish-owned, family-run company to 265. Kilkenny Group has opened four new stores since last year and plans to open a further three by the end of next year. Just recently it opened an outlet on Grafton Street in Dublin. It has also invested significantly in the expansion and relaunch of its online offering. According to chief executive officer Marian O’Gorman, Irish consumers are recognising the importance of buying Irish and there has never been a greater need to support indigenous craft…