300 jobs in healthcare and pizza delivery companies

UP to 300 jobs are to be created in the healthcare and catering sectors, it was confirmed yesterday.

Pizza delivery chain PHQ by Pizza Hut has announced it is creating 260 jobs at seven new stores this year and further outlets in 2010.

PHQ, formerly Godfather’s Pizza, employs more than 400 people in stores mainly in the Leinster area and intends to have 30 outlets operating there before the end of the year.

“There aren’t many companies who can be so positive in this current economic climate, so we are delighted to be able to announce this significant investment, together with creation of so many new jobs for Ireland,” said John Cronin, director of PHQ by Pizza Hut in Ireland.

Meanwhile, healthcare information technology company Cerner Corporation has said it expects to create 40 jobs in Dublin by the end of the year with the addition of a customer multilingual software technical support service for its European markets.

Announcing the expansion Tánaiste Mary Coughlan said: “Cerner is an example of a company involved in convergence technology between the information technology and healthcare sectors, which is an area of strategic focus for IDA Ireland in its attraction of foreign direct investment into Ireland.”

The Dublin operation, established in 2007, employs 14 people and is the company’s localisation and customisation headquarters for its solutions and services deployed in Europe.

Amanda Green, Cerner Ireland managing director, said: “Cerner chose Ireland for the initial operation and for this expansion due to the availability of a highly skilled workforce with multilingual capabilities, a competitive cost regime relative to a number of other European locations, and a very favourable business environment. By having a presence in Ireland, Cerner is well-positioned to support its growing global business.”

Meanwhile, a report has suggested that up to 4,500 construction jobs and 1,160 other posts could be created if the Government moves ahead with the proposed redevelopment of the Grangegorman hospital grounds in Dublin. The plans include the moving of all colleges of Dublin Institute of Technology to a single campus in the north inner city, as well as community health facilities and a science and technology park.