The 200 jobs will be filled over the next five years at the company's new offices in Blanchardstown.

The international fund that is completing the €1 billion buyout of Viridian — which owns the Energia and NI Power firms across Ireland — is seeking out more opportunities to acquire energy assets here, in a move that may likely heighten competition in the Republic.

The Irish gas market cannot be deregulated yet as Bord Gáis is still in too dominant a position for the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) to approve deregulation.