Business

Three in five participants in the national JobBridge scheme secure employment following their internship, according to an independent evaluation report published today by Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Social Protection Minister Joan Burton. Conducted by Indecon Economic Consultants, the evaluation indicates that 61pc of interns progress to paid employment after completing their internship. According to the Government, the progression rate for JobBridge is among the best in Europe, where rates for similar internship schemes average 34pc. The Details of The JobBridge Report The report also reveals that 96pc of host organizations would recommend JobBridge to another employer. Eighty-nine percent of interns said JobBridge had provided them with new skills which would…

Global medical device company CareFusion is to create 35 new jobs at its manufacturing facility in Gort, Co Galway, the company announced today. CareFusion, which has its headquarters in San Diego, employs over 15,000 people in more than 20 countries worldwide, including 90 in Ireland. The company was established in Ireland in 2006 with 12 employees. The Gort site is a manufacturing centre of excellence for diagnostic and monitoring medical equipment used in the diagnosis of human neurological, vascular and respiratory disorders, which are distributed to over 70 countries worldwide. Speaking in Gort today, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD said the announcement is further confirmation that Ireland remains a…

Irish airline Ryanair has said Germany’s €8 tourist tax is the reason it has cut 30pc of its flights to and from Frankfurt Hahn. From next summer, the airline will cut its aircraft base from 11 to eight, leading to the loss of my more than 100 flights per week. The company said that as a result, Frankfurt Hahn will lose one million passengers per year. Ryanair added that it was closing nine routes from Frankfurt Han to Agadir, Berlin, Gdansk, Gothenburg, Klagenfurt, Prague, Santiago, Seville and Wroclaw. Some of these closures may happen before the summer months. The airline, which has always been vocal about tourist taxes, said the…

KBC Bank Ireland is piloting mortgage arrears resolution options with customers who are experiencing difficulty in meeting their mortgage repayments. The options being piloted include a loan term extension option and a three-year interest only mortgage solution. “KBC is continuously assessing the solutions it provides to customers in difficulty. We plan to identify the most appropriate solutions through our pilot programmes with customers.  Once this process is complete, KBC will offer solutions to customers based on their specific financial needs which will be assessed on a case by case basis,” said John Reynolds, CEO KBC Bank Ireland. “As always the first step for all customers is to engage with the…

Today – Friday, 23 May – was the busiest day of operations for Aer Lingus Regional , operated by Stobart Air, since the airline signed its franchise agreement with Aer Lingus in March 2010. Over 5,500 passengers were booked to travel on 100 flights on all 27 of the airline’s routes. It is the second time since the franchise agreement that the airline has flown over 5,000 passengers in a single day. Due to strong demand, a number of extra flights were added on the airline’s routes today to Cardiff and Bristol for the Heineken Cup Final. The Kerry-Dublin route today continues to see strong demand.  Last month the airline reported a 38pc increase in…

Aspen Pharma has announced 42 new jobs at its Citywest European operations centre. The new jobs will bring Aspen’s total workforce in Ireland to 100 within the next 12 months. The company, which supplies branded and generic pharmaceuticals in more than 150 countries, first operated in Ireland in 2010. In 2012, it also established a global regulatory, pharmacovigilance, quality assurance, and supply projects centre in Citywest. The announcement was made this morning by Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton . Aspen’s investment is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise, and Innovation through IDA Ireland. The Minister described pharma as one of the Government’s key target sectors in its Action…

NDRC Inventorium and IIA initiative to accelerate 20 SMEs into online trading Banks are under-utilising a vital new source of revenue growth as many have been slow to respond to the digital innovations, according to Ciarán Kelly, financial services partner, PwC, who addressed the Irish Banking Federation Conference this week. This is despite strong digital awareness and usage among bank customers and the fact that they have shown a willingness to pay for these, he said. Speaking at the conference, Kelly said: “Given the pressures the financial crisis has had on the banking sector, banks have understandably been slow to embrace the digital innovation customers now expect.  Social media is changing customer…

Irish energy services company Crowley Carbon has launched a boiler aimed at the commercial and industrial market, which it says has been proven to deliver savings of up to 80pc on energy costs. Based on high pressure heat pump technology, the Thermal Server was developed in-house and is manufactured in Ireland. It can be driven by gas engine or electricity and utilises waste heat from manufacturing or geothermal sources to deliver low-cost hot water to businesses. This hot water can then be used in a wide range of installations, including breweries, dairies and other food processing plants. Over the past 24 months has been piloted within Dawn Meats in Ireland and the…

Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, operating as Vistakon Ireland , is investing over €100m in expanding its Vistakon Ireland contact lens production facility in Limerick. The 18-month construction phase at the facility at the National Technology Park in Plassey is expected to create 200 temporary jobs. Vistakon Ireland was set up in Limerick in 1996 and is one of several Johnson & Johnson companies operating in Ireland. Between them the companies employ around 2,500 people. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care produces the Acuvue range of soft disposable contact lenses. “Limerick was chosen for this strategically important investment because of its track record over many years in providing quality products and excellent customer…

The Burlington Hotel in Dublin 4 is on the market with a guide price of between €65m and €75m. The 4 star hotel, which has 501 bedrooms and extensive conferencing facilities on 3.9 acres of land, is being sold through CBRE Hotels on behalf of receiver Paul McCann of Grant Thornton. In 2007, property developer Bernard McNamara bought the hotel for €288m. McNamara had planned to demolish the building in favour of a new office and commercial development. According to CBRE Hotels, the Burlington is by far Dublin’s largest hotel and the “sale represents a rare and unique opportunity to acquire a substantial unbranded freehold property in the heart of…