Intel boss will head up jobs plan as Coalition gives regions a push

The head of Intel in Ireland is among the prominent business figures who will head up the Government's new regional jobs task forces.

Jobs Minister Richard Bruton and Taoiseach Enda Kenny will meet today with the heads of the eight task forces, including Intel Ireland general manager Eamon Sinnott, who will take charge in Meath, Kildare and Wicklow.

Mr Bruton will also put €40m on the table to be spent on local job creation, for which the regions will compete.

The meeting comes in the wake of international software giant Oracle and home-grown Irish firm 3D4Medical yesterday announcing a combined total of more than 500 jobs.

Oracle, one of the biggest and best-known software companies in the world, said it will hire 450 people at its Dublin office as part of a drive to take on 1,400 sales staff across the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.

Oracle's technologies deliver everything from secure computing infrastructure to enterprise cloud applications.

The firm, which employs more than 130,000 people worldwide and has revenues of $38bn (€35bn), currently has 1,400 staff in Ireland. It has had a presence here for more than 30 years. The new jobs will be in the company's offices in Eastpoint Business Park, Dublin.

The expansion follows a recent multi-billion dollar investment by Oracle in developing its portfolio of cloud computing services. The company currently offers more than 600 different cloud applications.

Oracle said it wants to hear from people with "a range of experience from across the EMEA region, from highly motivated sales professionals with two to three years' experience to highly experienced senior sales professionals".

Oracle's senior vice-president for the UK, Ireland and Israel region said: "We already have 1,400 jobs in Dublin. We are recruiting people who understand cloud computing. I want the best people to assist with our ambition, which is to become the number one cloud company in the world."

A further boost will see 70 jobs created over the next 18 months by Irish firm 3D4Medical, which is one of the world leaders in developing applications for the healthcare sector.

The company specialises in developing medical apps for professional reference as well as student and patient education for use on the iPhone, iPad and desktops.

The Heritage Council also announced yesterday that it will support about 70 full-time jobs this year through its range of heritage programmes around the country.

It plans to run a €500,000 community grants programme to help community groups involved in protecting and enhancing a wide variety of heritage locations and structures.

In Athlone this morning, Mr Bruton will announce the 20 business people from across the country who will be "Enterprise Champions", helping to implement the regional plans aimed at creating 220,000 jobs.

The chairs of the implementation committees in each region are:

l South-east: Frank O'Regan, former head of B&L.

l South-west: Bob Savage, EMC Ireland managing director.

l Mid-west: Barry O'Sullivan, Vistakon plant manager.

l West: Gerry Kilcommons, Medtronic president.

l North-east and West: Richard Hanlon, Vesta senior vice-president.

l Mid-east: Eamon Sinnott, Intel Ireland general manager.

l Midlands: Pat Gallagher, Westmeath County Council chief executive.

To win funding from the new €40m pot, a project must involve collaboration from different players within each region, such as councils and colleges.