Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD announced that Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) is to create more than 100 new roles at its international HQ, Facebook Ireland, updating its status to 500 jobs in Dublin as it continues its current phase of expansion.

Facebook is seeking staff to work in a range of functions and has already kicked off the hiring process by advertising the jobs on their online notice board www.facebook.com/jobs. Facebook’s Dublin office is its international headquarters and currently employs around 400 people in a broad range of roles including user operations, advertising, sales, policy and safety.

The roles will have a significant economic impact and Facebook’s Dublin operation works closely with the Irish government, via the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and IDA Ireland.

Minister Bruton has met senior executives from Facebook in their California headquarters as part of an intensive programme of IDA investment missions since taking office.

Making the announcement, Minister Bruton said: “ICT is a key sector targeted in the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs, and we are determined to build on the major successes in this sector in recent years, in particular by supporting the further development of the thriving cluster around Dublin’s docklands. Today’s announcement of a significant expansion by one of the biggest companies on the internet, with the creation of 100 high-end jobs, is a major endorsement of the tech environment in Dublin and further confirmation of our city’s status as the internet capital of Europe. This represents a significant economic commitment to Ireland by Facebook and I wish them every success with their operations here”.

Mr Gareth Lambe, Acting Head of Office for Facebook Ireland said: “Ireland is a great hub of international tech talent which is one reason why Facebook has its international HQ in Dublin. Today’s announcement means we will be expanding our workforce across multiple disciplines such as user operations, safety and advertising. These jobs, which reflect growth in markets across Europe but also the Middle East and Africa, mean we will not only be recruiting from the local economy but supporting local businesses by increasing our footprint.”

The Chief Executive of IDA Ireland, Mr Barry O’Leary said: “Social media remains a key strategic industry for Ireland in terms of job creation, and no brand name better represents that sector’s thriving growth than Facebook. Employment intensive services are a key focus of IDA’s Horizon 2020 strategy. The latest expansion and the nature of the employment being created illustrate how important the company is to the digital media cluster Ireland has developed over recent years’’.

About Facebook
Founded in 2004, Facebook’s mission is to make the world more open and connected. People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover what’s going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them.

We are making a big push this year to give opportunities to people who have been out of work for some time. Another 10,000 places on employment programmes are being added in 2013. In total, this year 20,000 people will have a chance to participate in JobBridge,
Springboard and the new Momentum programme – all mix training with practical work experience aimed at sectors with job vacancies.

● Momentum is a new programme. There are 6,500 places in
programmes involving certified classroom training and work
experience with a company for people who have been on the live
register for 12 months or getting credits. There are 71 different
offers in Dublin alone – mostly 20- to 40-week programmes.
Visit www.momentumskills.ie or call 8167400 (Baldoyle Training
Centre) or 8671177 (Northside Civic Centre) for more information.

● JobBridge offers an internship of 6-9 months to persons who
have been signing on as available to work and getting a payment
or credits for at least 3 months. Time on completed programmes in
FÁS training, back to education or a community scheme will count
towards eligibility. Participants will receive €50/week on top of
their welfare. See www.jobbridge.ie.

● Springboard offers part-time courses to those signing on. See
www.springboardcourses.ie.

After 199 years of continuous treatment of mental illness, patients and
staff at St Brendans are moving into a new state-of-the-art, 54-bed
mental health facility on the North Circular Road. The new facility will
include a Psychiatric Intensive Care Service, therapy and rehabilitation
spaces, enhanced with courtyard settings. This reflects the huge change in psychiatric care. In years gone by over 3,000 patients were resident behind high-walled security.

Meanwhile progress is being made in the redevelopment of the
Grangegorman site as a centred campus for 20,000 students of DIT. The Development Agency who is implementing the plan has lodged planning applications for the site. The construction will employ up to 2,800 people.