IBM plans to expand its e-business operations in Ireland, which will create an additional 150 jobs on top of the 2,000 employees the US computer giant already has in Ireland. The new operation would be a data centre to support e-business applications and a supplier portal for Europe, the Middle East and Africa which would enable companies to trade with IBM and other companies securely. IBM is also transferring the management of its internal and external websites in these geographical locations to Ireland. Total new investment in the IBM Technology Campus in Mulhuddart, County Dublin, will amount to around 100 million Irish pounds.

Mary Harney, the Irish Deputy Prime Minister with responsibility for enterprise, trade and employment, said 'This announcement signifies a vote of confidence by IBM in Ireland's e-business infrastructure, recognising the government's work in bandwidth provision, global connectivity and the legislative framework for business.' The Irish government has been keen to attract foreign investment in high-value, technology sectors such as software development, manufacturing and pharmaceuticals and the rapid rise of the so-called Celtic Tiger in recent years is, to a significant extent, attributable to foreign companies investing money, spurred on by relatively low corporate tax rates and a young, well-educated workforce.

The government has obviously done a good job at wooing foreign investment - Cisco, the US Internet networking group, has also announced plans to move into Dublin with a large-scale facility employing up to 3,000 people, joining IBM and other big names such as Microsoft, Intel, Dell, Gateway, Xerox and Hewlett-Packard who have chosen Ireland as a base for eyeing the European market.

Cisco is a huge name in the Internet industry and no doubt this latest move will be a glittering prize for the Irish government, but it has not fallen into Ireland's lap - Mary Harney visited Silicon Valley and held discusions with Cisco in her endeavours to attract the big names. However, she succeeded and the company plans to expand its development and testing operations to Ireland, India and China. In addition to software development, the facility in Ireland will provide large-scale, end-to-end system testing capabilities for advanced network solutions. David Kirk, senior vice president for Cisco IOS Technologies Division, said 'The Internet economy is driving dynamic changes in the telecommunications industry. With many countries rapidly expanding their telecommunications capabilities, Cisco is seeing increased demand for our hardware and software solutions around the world. Expanding our software development and test capabilities in Asia and Europe enables Cisco to meet that demand with the most advanced network platforms for enabling service providers and enterprises to take advantage of the power of the Internet. Additionally, our customers in these regions will have access to local support that understands their unique market requirements.'

Undoubtedly technology companies are of the utmost importance to Ireland as they are becoming increasing entwined in the country's economy. Reportedly around 25 per cent of current wealth can be attributed to the electronics and technology sector. The government's challenge now is to keep them in Ireland whilst continuing its drive to attract new players, in particular the dotcom companies.