Research company to create 200 Dublin jobs
An international clinical research company is to open a new innovation hub in Dublin creating 200 jobs.
Icon, which provides outsourcing roles for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical devices industries, is to establish the centre with a focus of bringing in faster access to large volumes of data from drug trials.
The announcement was made as the Government launched its latest phase in its Action Plan for Jobs which is targeting full employment in the country by 2018.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny predicted a reversal in the emigration that has devastated communities around the country and saw tens of thousands of young people leave Ireland since the economic collapse of 2010.
“As we continue to plot the path to full employment in 2018, I expect that next year we will see more Irish people returning home to take up jobs than those leaving. This will be an important turning point in our economic recovery,” he said.
Among the new initiatives being pushed are a 60% increase in IT graduates from higher education over the next three years, a €25m funding pot to develop business in the regions and streamlining the system for applying for 29 retail licenses this year.
It is also targeting a doubling in the number of patents, industrial designs and intellectual property activities registered in Ireland over the next three years.
Mr Kenny said state agencies are being asked to show what they will do to drive regional growth.
“This is an essential part of our plan to ensure the recovery is felt nationwide and leads to balanced economic development.
Icon, listed on the Nasdaq in New York, has 11,000 employees in 38 countries, including 1,000 in Ireland.
The company’s new 200 jobs will be in IT, data analytics, clinical science, project management, finance and human resources.
