Abtran to run call centre for Irish Water

Bord Gáis are set to appoint Abtran to run the new Irish Water call centre in Cork with the creation of 400 jobs by the end of 2016.

The Irish Examiner understands that confirmation of the granting of the contract will come in the next week, despite Bord Gáis continuing to remain tight-lipped on the outcome of the tendering process.

“Irish Water is in the final stages of a competitive tender process to appoint a call centre provider. This is a confidential process and as a result, we cannot comment while the process is ongoing. The tender process is expected to conclude in the coming weeks ahead of the start of the metering programme in July,” said a Bord Gáis statement.

The aim of the new Irish Water company will be to run a national water system that will supply households and businesses throughout the country.

Further jobs will be created installing water meters, while the process of recruiting the senior management began last year. The company is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2016.

Abtran hit the headlines earlier this month after a staff member was suspended over alleged fraud.

It is understood the man, now at the centre of a Garda probe into alleged credit card fraud, had only been working at the Cork-based firm for a few weeks. He allegedly obtained credit card details from 11 customers and then attempted to make a number of online purchases.