Bruton: IT not like the construction sector before boom

Jobs Minister Richard Bruton rejected allegations Ireland would be left relying too much on the IT industry after a leading insurance firm announced it is to create more than 100 jobs at two new IT hubs in Dublin.

Zurich Insurance Group has already begun recruiting for the 112 new hi-tech jobs, with graduates, senior specialists and management positions covering a wide range of areas from change management to cyber analysts to disaster recovery specialists.

The hubs will provide services to the Zurich businesses globally and in Europe.

Mr Bruton said the IT industry was not like the building and finance sectors before the collapse of the economy and building boom.

“I think the ICT isn’t a single sector,” he said.

“ICT is now becoming a technology that’s transforming every sector.”

The minister maintained more companies need to go online, including retailers who need to build a stronger base.

“This isn’t a passing fad or this isn’t a sector we’re putting a lot of eggs in to,” he added.

“This is a transformative technology that’s impacting everything and we need to be at the forefront of it.

“So having big data, having cyber security located in Ireland is really strengthening the whole structure that we have for taking on these opportunities.”

Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the expansion was excellent news for Dublin and Ireland.

He said: “The new investment by Zurich in two new IT hubs demonstrates the value of keeping Ireland at the cutting edge of the expanding digital industry and maintaining our strong financial services industry.”

Patrick Manley, chief executive of Zurich’s General Insurance business in Europe, said robust IT systems are critical to facilitating fast business decisions and speedy customer delivery.

“By establishing these hubs we at Zurich can significantly upgrade our IT capabilities and deliver round the clock security monitoring of our IT assets globally,” he added.

The expansion was supported by IDA Ireland.

One of the new hubs will support Zurich’s IT service management and the other will focus on cyber security management.

Zurich already employs more than 1,000 people in Ireland at its European headquarters for general insurance and divisions serving Irish and cross border markets.

Mr Manley said with €26bn worth of asserts in Ireland, and an annual turnover of €9bn, the firm was dedicated to the market and economy.

“It emphasises our belief that we can find here the skills that we need for the jobs that we have to run our businesses,” he added.