Hundreds of new jobs for Clondalkin

A TOTAL of 560 new jobs are on their way to Clondalkin.

Echelon Data Centres Limited have announced the creation of 1,100 jobs, with half to be located in the Southside suburb.

The 1,100 jobs being created consist of 460 construction jobs and 100 operational positions in Clondalkin, and 450 construction jobs and 90 operational positions in Arklow. 

The investment plans were announced in Dublin at an event attended by the Minister for Business, Enterprise, and Innovation, Heather Humphreys, senior representatives from the data centre industry and global technology companies as well as local Fine Gael councillor, Emer Higgins. 

Speaking at the launch, Cllr Higgins said: “This €1bn investment is fantastic news for Ireland, and in particular for Clondalkin. We will benefit from 460 new jobs during construction and another 100 long term jobs at the Echelon Data centre in Clondalkin.

“Permission has already been granted so we will see the sod turned here quite quickly." 

Minister Humphries noted it was especially encouraging to learn that Echelon will use a number of Irish suppliers and domestic expertise in its delivery.

“It’s encouraging to see an indigenous company making this type of commitment to a sector that we think of as being dominated by Silicon Valley giants,” she said.

Niall Molloy, CEO of Echelon Data Centres, said that the provision of customisable, scalable data centre facilities is key to the continuing growth of the digital economy, driven by social media, ecommerce, digital broadcasting and the internet of things. 

“We’re thrilled that work to build Echelon’s first data centres has commenced. Between our two sites in Clondalkin and Arklow, and other sites that we are in the process of identifying and acquir-ing in Ireland, the UK and Europe, Echelon will become one of Europe’s biggest data centre provid-ers,” Niall said.