Tralee technology company Donseed is set to grow rapidly following a €1.2 million investment that has been led by the new AIB Seed Capital Fund.

The six-person company plans to create 26 new jobs in research and development, technical support, customer service and sales.

Chief executive Vincent Lynch said 24 of the jobs would be based in Kerry.

The €500,000 being provided by AIB Seed Capital Fund is its first investment since the €30 million AIB and Enterprise Ireland fund was founded last year.

Enterprise Ireland and the company's founders and management have provided the balance of the money.

Donseed's web-based workplace management system is a combination of hardware and software. It has three modules covering time and attendance, health and safety and contract management. A robust unit is provided which contains a biometric fingerprint scanner and a mobile phone unit.

Workers clock into the system at the start and the end of the day, and the information is sent back to Donseed's servers using the GPRS network. "Not needing a landline is pretty unique," says Mr Lynch. "For a construction site it means you can get it in on day one."

Information about who is on the site can be accessed through a secure website by management. The data can also be exported to most major payroll software so that administration is reduced.

Information about health and safety, such as when a worker's Safe Pass certification expires, can also be input into the system.

An e-mail is automatically sent to a supervisor if a worker without valid health and safety certification turns up for work.

A third module allows for management of sub-contractors, ensuring they lodge all relevant documentation through the web before they are paid for a job.

The system is already in use at more than 100 sites in Ireland and Britain, according to Mr Lynch, and he said the company has aggressive sales targets.

It is initially focusing on the construction, retail and energy sectors, and charges a set-up cost and ongoing subscription fee.