TAOISEACH BRIAN Cowen has described the creation of 150 jobs at eBay’s facility in Blanchardstown, Dublin, as an “excellent marketing tool” for Ireland.

Mr Cowen said eBay was an “iconic global brand” which provided a “safe and secure” online marketplace for individuals to trade all sorts of goods and services on a national and global level.

The company already employs more than 1,600 people at its Blanchardstown site together with PayPal, its online payment system.

“The operation here in Blanchardstown has seen employment rise . . . and further expansion provided for another 150 jobs. So I think this is an indication for the fact that Ireland can compete, is competing, and that when we set out strategies they’re not simply aspirational,” he said.

Mr Cowen said he believed yesterday’s announcement would encourage other companies to view Ireland an “excellent innovation hub” and the best place in Europe to establish a base. “We believe that it will be an excellent marketing tool for IDA Ireland,” he added.

Andrew Pease, site director for eBay Dublin, said the jobs would include positions for specialists with strong technical skills in business analytics, knowledge management, project management and account management. The company was also keen to recruit multilingual customer-service representatives, he said.

“The decision to expand eBay Dublin is a reflection of our confidence in the standard of skilled workforce within the Irish market,” Mr Pease said.

IDA chief executive Barry O’Leary said the announcement demonstrated Ireland’s ability to provide “a nurturing environment where leading-edge corporations can continue to expand”. He described eBay as a company of “high technological calibre”.

Mr O’Leary said Ireland already had a lead in international services and innovation in services, which was a growth area for the economy.