Siemens, the giant German hi-tech group which employs 800 staff in Ireland, has reported worldwide sales increase of 7% to €75.44bn for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2005, while new orders rose 11% to a massive €83.79bn.

ELECTRICAL and engineering giant Siemens reported a slump in full-year profits yesterday as write-offs in its mobile phone business helped drag net income down from €3.4 billion to €2.2bn.

Construction has begun on the country's largest windfarm which is being built in Co Donegal.