Enterprise Minister welcomes Eircom investment in Northern Ireland

Date: 23rd April 2009

Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster welcomed eircom's £8.5million investment in Northern Ireland when she opened their new offices in Belfast, today.

Speaking at the official opening the Minister said: "It is particularly good news, in these challenging economic times, that eircom Northern Ireland has plans for a further £1.5million investment over the next 12 months in Northern Ireland, bringing the company's investment here to over £10million.

"I also welcome eircom's plans to create a further 30 high value graduate jobs as a result of recent bid successes. These include today's announcement of a major contract win, worth £600,000 over three years, from NI Water for infrastructure management services."

Arlene Foster continued: "The presence of eircom here in Northern Ireland represents a significant step in the development of Northern Ireland's telecommunication market.

"As a region of the UK, Northern Ireland benefits from being part of one of the most dynamic and competitive telecoms markets in the world. It is one element of the digital economy in the UK."

Speaking at the opening Cathal Magee, Acting Group Chief Executive of eircom said: "eircom is committed to establishing a significant presence in Northern Ireland. The NI Water contract win and our ongoing investment are clear evidence of our long term commitment to Northern Ireland. By working in collaboration with our business partners we are bringing world class telecommunications standards to Northern Ireland that will not only improve local business competitiveness but position it as an ideal location for inward investment."

The Minister added: "It comes as no surprise that a company like eircom has decided to invest in the market here. We have a vibrant, competitive market, a pool of highly qualified and enthusiastic workers and a strategic investment plan in place for telecommunications infrastructure."

In conclusion the Minister said: "The Northern Ireland Executive recognises the importance of telecommunications and as part of its priority of "Growing A Dynamic, Innovative Economy" it has committed to invest in infrastructure to improve Northern Ireland telecommunications and a range of advice and support services to help Northern Ireland's small and medium enterprises."

During her visit, to the new eircom offices, the Minister saw a demonstration of eircom's leading edge Telepresence facility which offers state of the art international conferencing and the Network Operations Centre (NOC) which monitors and controls managed network services.

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