FINEOS Corporation a global provider of claims management software for the insurance industry, today announced that it is recruiting 50 highly skilled employees in the first half of 2013. The majority of the new roles are being created in the FINEOS Research and Innovation centre in Dublin and the remaining positions are open to anyone who would like to join the FINEOS Professional Services Team working on projects in Australia, United States and Canada.

The Taoiseach and the Minister for Jobs today [Tuesday] announced the appointment of 6 Industry Partners to assist with the implementation and monitoring of the seven “Disruptive Reforms” identified by Government for implementation in 2013 as part of the Action Plan for Jobs. The intention is that the 6 Industry Partners will bring their skills and experience to bear in monitoring the implementation of the Disruptive Reforms, help identify opportunities for greater efficiency in the delivery of the proposals and help deliver greater collaboration between the public and private sectors in delivering jobs policies.

“The new Integrated Licensing Application Portal for retailers will provide significant savings in terms of time and costs for businesses and entrepreneurs across Ireland through the simplification of the process for applying for multiple licences. This will help business competitiveness and will ultimately protect and create more jobs”, Minister for Small Business, John Perry, TD said today (Tuesday) as he chaired the first meeting of the Steering Group of licensing authorities.

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD, will today (Monday) in Washington DC meet senior figures from President Obama's administration as part of a drive to achieve progress on a new EU-US Free Trade Agreement during the Irish Presidency of the EU Council.

The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD, departs today [Tuesday] on a 4-day trade mission of 40 innovative exporting Irish companies to Texas. Over the course of the 4-day Enterprise Ireland programme, the Minister will attend over 20 trade events and meetings in Houston, Dallas and Austin, as well as holding meetings with multinational companies already investing or considering investing in Ireland.

The Minister for Research and Innovation, Mr. Sean Sherlock TD, together with the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Ireland, Mr. Luo Linquan, today (Thursday) welcomed up to € 1 million of funding over the next 12 months by the Irish Government to advance science and innovation cooperation between Ireland and China. This follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in 2012 on Scientific and Innovation Cooperation between Ireland and China. A significant level of matching funding from China has already been obtained or pledged.

The Minister for Research and Innovation, Mr. Sean Sherlock TD, together with the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Ireland, Mr. Luo Linquan, today (Thursday) welcomed up to € 1 million of funding over the next 12 months by the Irish Government to advance science and innovation cooperation between Ireland and China.

EU Employment Ministers today (Thursday) called for an increased focus on policies to promote growth and job creation at a Council meeting co-chaired by Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD. Minister Bruton was co-chairing a meeting of the Employment and Social Policy Council (EPSCO) with Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton TD.

EU Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, has today (Thursday) called on the wider European research community – academia, industry, governments and other key stakeholders – to embrace and advance the ‘Joint Programming’ model of research, where Member States work together to tackle common issues in a strategically-aligned process.

Richard Bruton TD, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and Sean Sherlock, TD, Minister for Research and Innovation today announced a landmark investment by the Government in scientific research which is closely aligned to industry and enterprise needs, job opportunities and societal goals. €200 million of Irish exchequer funding will be invested in seven world class research centres of scale. The new funding will be delivered through Science Foundation Ireland’s (SFI) Research Centres Programme coupled with over €100 million in cash and in-kind contributions from industry partners, making it the largest ever combined state/industry co-funding announcement of its kind in the research field in Ireland. The funding will be provided over the next six years with a mid-term review.

The Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister for Jobs today [Friday] published Action Plan for Jobs 2013, the next step in the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and accelerate the transition to a sustainable, jobs-rich economy based on enterprise, innovation and exports. The Plan, which contains 333 actions to be implemented in 2013 by 16 Government Departments and 46 agencies, will build on the progress made in 2012 and continue to improve supports for job-creating businesses and remove the barriers to employment-creation across the economy. These actions are additional to the 249 actions already implemented under Action Plan 2012, which have helped support net growth of almost 12,000 in private sector employment in the past year. In the three years to March 2011 a net 250,000 jobs were lost in the private sector.

Irish innovators received a significant boost today (Tuesday) when Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD, along with Ministers from 23 other Member States, signed the Unified Patent Court Agreement in Brussels. The agreement is the last part of a package of measures that will provide a one-stop shop for innovative enterprises to register and protect their patents in the European Union. Its creation will save Irish businesses seeking patent coverage in Europe significant amounts, with up to €6 million spent annually on patent translation costs alone. Across Europe, it is estimated that the new patent system will save business between E150-290m each year.

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD today [Monday] announced that Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) is to create more than 100 new roles at its international HQ, Facebook Ireland, updating its status to 500 jobs in Dublin as it continues its current phase of expansion.

An Taoiseach, Mr. Enda Kenny T.D., together with Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Mr. Richard Bruton T.D., today announced 450 high quality new jobs by eBay, Inc., the world’s leading provider of online marketplaces and payment services.

In the future, common household devices such as the kitchen fridge will be able to act independently, take over day-to-day tasks such as ordering grocery shopping online, and even acquire their own personality. This is one of the technology concepts which will be discussed at a conference in Dublin today by more than 100 standards experts from Ireland, Europe and the United States. The ‘Role of Standards in Research, Development & Innovation’ is being hosted by NSAI (National Standards Authority of Ireland) as part of the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU.

The theme of the informal meeting is “getting people into work” and across all plenary sessions and workshops ministers will share views and experiences on a number of policy areas, ranging from skills development to activating jobless households, that will feed into the process of getting European people back into work.

Enterprise Ireland’s €200,000 Competitive Feasibility Fund is aimed at stimulating start-ups and creating jobs in the West Region. The fund offered funding of up to €25,000 to support entrepreneurs explore the feasibility of start-up ideas with job-creating potential. Pictured at the announcement of the successful applicants are: Left to Right: Pictured L to R: Barry Egan, Enterprise Ireland Director West Region; John Perry TD, Minister for Small Business and Alma Curley, CGA Software.

John Perry TD, Minister for Small Business, will today (Thursday 31 January 2013) launch the Enterprise Ireland Think Outside the Box Awards as part of a major drive aimed at tapping into the potential for students and young people to turn their entrepreneurial ideas into commercial businesses. This is a great opportunity for ambitious and enterprising students to build a real-world business venture and at the same time be in with a chance to win a prize from the overall €30,000 cash prize fund, which includes a €10,000 first prize, as well as a €30,000 consultancy fund.

249 out of the 270 measures committed to be implemented in 2012 by all 15 Government Departments and 36 Agencies under the Action Plan for Jobs have been delivered, the Taoiseach, Tanaiste and Minister for Jobs announced today [Friday]. They were speaking as they published the fourth and final quarterly progress report under Action Plan for Jobs 2012. Action Plan for Jobs 2013 will be published in the coming weeks.

The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD and the Minister for Research and Innovation, Sean Sherlock TD, today (Friday, January 25th 2013) announced funding, totalling €60million, dedicated to 85 pioneering research initiatives. Administered via Science Foundation Ireland’s (SFI) Investigator Programme, the 85 research projects will directly support 250 researchers through to 2018. In time this investment will also indirectly support further research initiatives and many more researchers by leveraging significant additional funding from other sources including competitive European research calls. The top-class projects focus on a range of national research priority areas identified by Government as key for developing new commercial products and services from scientific research, including ICT, health/life sciences, energy and manufacturing competitiveness. The projects being funded have links to 36 companies thus far and the potential for creating jobs is a critical factor.

Sean Sherlock TD, Minister for Research and Innovation today [Tuesday] announced that TreeMetrics, an Irish based innovator in forestry, data analytics and measurement solutions, has secured a significant €800,000 contract, with the European Space Agency (ESA). The contract was secured with the help of Enterprise Ireland, the co-ordinating body for ESA in Ireland. The funding will support the global roll-out of the company's innovative web-based satellite mapping application for the forestry industry. The Enterprise Ireland-backed company also plans to recruit a further ten software engineers over the next twelve months to expand its workforce at its Cork facility to thirty. The company is receiving significant interest from multinational timber growers to develop its proprietary system.

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mr Richard Bruton TD has today [Monday] officially opened the DCU Innovation Campus, a new national centre for innovation in the Cleantech sector, one of the fastest growing areas of economic activity and worth more than €5 trillion globally. The new campus, which will be a location of choice for Cleantech start-ups, SMEs and larger companies, is expected to drive significant green economy growth in the North Dublin and Leinster area, supporting 200 jobs over the initial 18 months.

CRANN, the Government-funded nanoscience institute based at Trinity College Dublin has today [Monday] announced that it secured €8 million of non-Exchequer funding for nanoscience research this year, an increase of 60% over investment secured in 2011. The investment has resulted in the creation of 50 full-time research jobs. €20 million of industry funding for research has been committed over the next six years to sustain and grow the institute.

McDonald’s Ireland to create 700 jobs, investing €20 million in its Irish operations

Luxcel Biosciences Ltd, a University College Cork spin-out company today [Thursday] (signed a distribution agreement for the distribution of its products in the Japanese pharma and academic markets.

Minister for Research and Innovation, Sean Sherlock TD, higlighted the importance of Digital Humanities in “Boosting Ireland’s image and reputation through the global exposure of Ireland’s culture and heritage through digital means” at the the Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI) conference event “Realising the Opportunities in Digital Humanities”

Science Week 2012 runs from 11th – 18th November 2012 and is a collaboration of events run by colleges, schools, libraries, teachers, researchers and students throughout Ireland. With over 500 events registered on www.scienceweek.ie (and more to come) “Science Week 2012: Everyday Experimenting” is calling on the nation to join in the fun of everyday experimenting and participate in an event near you!

87% of Q3 measures delivered under Action Plan for Jobs Third Progress Report

Following an in-depth strategic review, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) today [Monday] announced that the Stiefel plant in Sligo will remain open and will receive an investment of €10 million. The project is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through IDA Ireland and will enhance the plant’s technical expertise and capacity. The plant, which had been scheduled to close next year, will become a dedicated Stiefel consumer products supply site. The flexibility, productivity and commitment of GSK staff in Sligo have been important factors in this decision. Staff were informed of the development at a meeting on site early this morning. Today’s announcement was attended by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD.

The €100m investment, which will create 800 jobs, as well as 400 immediate construction jobs, will be part-funded by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through Enterprise Ireland. The new flagship global technology and customer innovation centre will serve as a key focal point for Kerry’s customer engagement activities providing strategic customers with access to the Group’s complete breadth and depth of technologies, scientific research, innovation and applications expertise across food, beverage and pharmaceutical markets.

All-in-one marketing software provider HubSpot announced the January 2013 opening of a European Headquarters in Dublin, Ireland to support their rapidly-growing international business segment. The office - HubSpot’s first-ever branch office - will create 150 new jobs, bring HubSpot’s unique inbound marketing vision to a global audience, and oversee all international operations, supporting 600+ customers and 100 value-added resellers. HubSpot has appointed Jeetu Mahtani as Managing Director of the office.

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) today announced the creation of 300 new jobs for EA’s European Customer Experience Centre of Excellence in Galway, Ireland. Building on the foundation of its existing facility, EA will now provide multilingual international customer support and services for its major game titles. This investment is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland.

A new management development programme, aimed at helping indigenous small businesses accelerate their growth prospects, has been launched by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton T.D.

911 new jobs to be created in Government-supported start up companies – Bruton The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD today [Thursday] announced that 911 new jobs will be created over the next three years in 53 new high potential start-up companies supported by Government through Enterprise Ireland.

New industry-led group to drive growth in digital games sector – Minister Bruton Minister announces establishment of Clustering Development Team to drive creation of 2,500 digital games jobs by end 2014

The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton T.D., has unveiled two new 55c stamps marking two Significant Science Milestones: Dublin City of Science 2012 and the 350th anniversary of the formulation of Boyle’s Law.

Minister Bruton Launches Programme to 'Accelerate' Small Business Growth. The 'Accelerate Management Development Programme' from the County and City Enterprise Boards, aimed at helping small businesses accelerate their growth prospects, was launched in Dublin by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton T.D. (2nd from right) who is pictured with Vincent Reynolds (2nd from left), County and City Enterprise Boards, fashion scarf designer, Susannagh Grogan, and Andrew McElhinney from O'Donnell’s Bakery. Through a series of specially-designed modules and one-to-one mentoring sessions, hundreds of small business owners all over the country are expected to learn new management, leadership and business skills to carry over to their own companies. Last year alone, the County and City Enterprise Boards jointly delivered enterprise training programmes to 27,000 owners and managers of small businesses all over Ireland, an increase of over 3,300 on the previous year. Further information around the 'Accelerate Management Development Company' is available at http://www.enterpriseboards.ie or by contacting any of the Enterprise Board offices. Two participants from the pilot 'Accelerate' programme also attended the launch: fashion scarf designer, Susannagh Grogan, a client of the Dun-Laoghaire Rathdown County Enterprise Board and Andrew McElhinney, from O'Donnell’s Bakery, a client of the Donegal County Enterprise Board. Photo: Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland

Microenterprise Loan Fund Scheme to provide over Euro90 million in extra lending to 5,500 businesses and create an additional 7,700 jobs over ten years. Picture Fennells Over Eur90million in additional lending to 5,500 micro-enterprises will be made available under a Government scheme which is expected to create 7,700 jobs over 10 years, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD announced today 22nd June. Minister Bruton was speaking as the Microenterprise Loan Fund Bill was published following Government decision last Tuesday 19th June. The Microenterprise Loan Fund Scheme which is expected to be operational from early autumn will initially facilitate Eur40million in additional lending to businesses employing not more than 10 people over the next five years, with provision for the scheme to be extended to provide an additional Eur50million of lending over a further five years at that point. Start-ups, sole traders and exisiting microenterprises will be eligible to apply for a loan under the scheme. At the announcement today were John Coady, Dux & Co, MInister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD, Leah Duxbury, Dux & Co and Minister for Small Business John Perry TD. Photo Shane O'Neill / Fennells No reproduction fee

Minister for Small Business, John Perry announced the launch of the SourceDogg.com PhD Scholarship for Excellence in Procurement Research in the Centre for Executive Education in Dublin City University

BUSINESS -Sean Sherlock T.D. Minister for Research & Innovation gets a lesson in the old and new approach to learning algebra from students Jamie Kerry and Sunniva Corr from St. Patricks Grammar School, Dublin as he launched the 6 million Euro "Centre for Learning Innovation" funded by Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland. The Centre aims to be a global centre of excellence in technology-enabled learning for the business and education sectors. (NO FEE FOR REPRO) Credit Gary O' Neill.

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD today [Tuesday] announced that Maples and Calder, a leading international corporate and finance law firm which has created 175 jobs in Dublin over the past 5 years, has plans to create a further 75 jobs within the next three years.

Launch of Business Regulation Portal at the department of Enterprise Trade & Innovation. Picture Fennells

New Structures to create more jobs from Ireland's 800 million R&D budget. Minister for Jobs Enterprise and innovation Richard Bruton TD, and Minister for Research and Innovation Sean Sherlock TD and the IP Protocol Group at the announcement of new structures to make it easier to commercialise and ultimately create jobs from ideas developed through publicly-funded research, which currently receives total funding of over 800 million Euro a year. The launch took place in NovaUCD which supported and assisted Dr Hill with the establishment and development of Equinome, a UCD spin-out Company which has developed out of the successful commercialisation of State-funded research. Todays announcement represents the delivery of a key commitment in the Programme for Government and the Action Plan for Jobs 2012. Photo Chris Bellew / Fennells 8/06/12. No repro Fee.

New Structures to create more jobs from Ireland's 800 million R&D budget. Pictured is Minister for Jobs Enterprise and innovation Richard Bruton TD, Dr Emmeline Hill of Equinome and Minister for Research and Innovation Sean Sherlock TD at the announcement of new structures to make it easier to commercialise and ultimately create jobs from ideas developed through publicly-funded research, which currently receives total funding of over 800 million Euro a year. The launch took place in NovaUCD which supported and assisted Dr Hill with the establishment and development of Equinome, a UCD spin-out Company which has developed out of the successful commercialisation of State-funded research. Todays announcement represents the delivery of a key commitment in the Programme for Government and the Action Plan for Jobs 2012. Photo Chris Bellew / Fennells 8/06/12. No repro Fee.

Minister Bruton at OECD Ministerial Council May 2012

NO REPRO FEE: 21.05.12: DUBLIN: Pictured at the launch of a new standard to provide guidance to business on adopting cloud computing are Maurice Buckley, CEO, NSAI, Richard Bruton, T.D., Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and Joan Mulvihill, CEO, Irish Internet Association (IAA). The new standard, Swift 10, was developed by Irish internet Association and NSAI and is designed to encourage businesses of all sizes to move to the Cloud. Picture Conor McCabe Photography.

BUSINESS / 23.5.12 Minister for Research and Innovation, Seán Sherlock TD, today announced the launch of the Science-2-Business programme, which will take place at the Euroscience Open Forum 2012 (ESOF) in Dublin in July. The programme will bring leading academics and members of the business community together to illustrate how to transform publicly-funded research into successful companies. Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), lead partner in the Science-2-Business programme, revealed at the launch that industry collaborations by SFI researchers reached 1,035 in 2011 – an increase of 19% from 867 in 2010. In advance of the publication of the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Census 2011, it was revealed that SFI researchers are now working with 583 companies from 67 countries across the globe. Pictured at the launch today were Professor Thomas Cooney, DIT, Chair of the Science-2-Business Programme Committee and President of the International Council for Small Business, Professor Mark Ferguson, Director General, Science Foundation Ireland, Lisa Amini, Distinguished Engineer and the Director of IBM Research Ireland and Minister for Research and Innovation, Seán Sherlock TD. Photo Fennells / no reproduction fee

Pictured are Dr Edward de Bono, the man widely believed to be the father of lateral thinking, in conversation with Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD and Dr Phil Nolan, Chairman of the Irish Management Institute (IMI). Dr de Bono has called for thinking to be taught as a subject in schools and was giving a Master-class at the IMI to mark a new partnership between the body and the Edward de Bono Foundation, which will see IMI offer courses and training based on the thinking techniques pioneered by Dr de Bono. PIC MAXWELLS, NO FEE

Dublin 27th April 2012: Pictured was Tomas Sexton and Mark McCann, Directors of Coady Partnership Architects with Richard Bruton TD., Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and Anne Fletcher, Managing Director at the official announcement of the Practice winning a major International contract to design 4 new secondary schools in Belgium. This has resulted in the creation of a significant number of new jobs for the company. Picture Jason Clarke Photography. No Repro Fee.

REPRO FREE Provision April 23rd 2012--Minister of State at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Sean Sherlock TD with Conor Hegarty (l) and Michael T Murphy, VP Engineering, today (announced that M/A-COM Technology Solutions, a leading supplier of high performance analog semiconductor solutions, is continuing to expand its Cork operation, where it now employs 68 people. In 2011, the company established its international headquarters in Cork and in 2010 the company commenced an IDA supported R&D project in IC (integrated circuit) design. Both initiatives, from commencement of the recruitment process to completion, are expected to add 30 jobs and recruitment is ongoing. New positions are currently being added in Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality & Administration. Pic Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision

BUSINESS-22/04/2012 - Turning straw to gold. Minister Sean Sherlock T.D with Fionan Murray, Director of Cellulac, the Enterprise Ireland supported start-up, which has been approved for a record €2.8m grant from the European Commission to commercialise its biorefining technology that converts agricultural waste into lactic acid. (NO FEE FOR REPRO) Credit Gary O' Neill

Director of Science Foundation Ireland, Dr. Graham Love, SciFest Project Manager Ms. Sheila Porter, President of CIT Dr. Brendan Murphy, Minister for Research and Innovation Sean Sherlock TD, Dr. Padraig O Murchu, Intel, Education Research Manager and Dr. Hugh McGlynn, Head of School of Science, CIT, pictured at the 2012 CIT SciFest. Picture: Pascal Ungerer

Frank Ryan, Enterprise Ireland, Minister Richard Bruton (c) McInnes Photography

BUSINESS / 25.4.12 Minister for Small Businesses John Perry TD has launched the Enterprise Europe Network's online directory for innovation supports and services. The directory, developed in conjunction with Dublin Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise Ireland, is targeted at small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Ireland and includes a total of 460 supoorts and services in financing innovation, training, innovation infrastructure networks and advisory. The directory can be found at www.een-ireland.ie . At the launch were Aebhric McGibney, Director of Policy, Dublin Chamber of Commerce and Minister for Small Businesses, John Perry, TD Photo Fennells , no reproduction fee