ACI chief ignored advice not to set up in Ireland

The head of a US multinational said he ignored advice that he should not come to Ireland when he was looking to set up a base in Europe due to the poor state of our telecommunications.

Phil Heasley, president and CEO of ACI Worldwide, said its Irish operation in Limerick was such a success they had decided to expand their workforce from 82 to 150.

ACI processes over 35m payment transactions worth $14tn (€12.7tn) each day for nearly 5,000 banks, retail companies, restaurants, and hotel groups worldwide.