Galway bucks trend with 1,100 new jobs

Date Published: 16-Dec-2010

BY ENDA CUNNINGHAM

Galway City proved relatively resilient to the economic downturn on the jobs front during 2010, with the creation of more than 1,100 new positions.

Although Live Register figures continued on the rise for most of the year, there were also more than a dozen significant jobs announcements – the majority of which were attracted by the IDA.

Just this week, two companies based in Galway announced a total of 220 new jobs – bringing the total number of jobs announced here to 460 in just four weeks.

On Thursday, Goodman Medical announced 115 ‘high-end’ jobs at their facility in Mervue Business Park as part of a €1.1m investment, while just three days earlier, Hewlett Packard created 105 highly-skilled new jobs at its Ballybrit plant.

Meanwhile, the IDA has now said that Galway has firmly secured its position as a technology hub for Ireland.

“Clearly, we are setting up Galway as a major cluster for ICT, and we now have a very impressive offering. The HP announcement, which is supported by the IDA, is very positive news and it sets Galway up as an ICT hub for Ireland,” IDA Regional Manager Jim Murren said.

Mayor of Galway Michael Crowe said Galway’s cost base and its attractiveness to companies proved key in securing new jobs.

For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune.