Global online payments firm PayPal has today confirmed plans to create 1,000 new jobs in Ireland over the next four years.

The company is to establish a new operations centre in Dundalk, Co Louth. Recruitment starts in July, with 300 people expected to be recruited by the end of the year.

The company, which is a subsidiary of Ebay, arrived in Ireland in 2003 and currently employs about 1,400 people at its European headquarters in Blanchardstown in west Dublin.

The jobs are supported by the Government through IDA Ireland.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny joined senior company executives and IDA Ireland officials in Dublin to make the jobs announcement this afternoon.

“Today's announcement by PayPal of 1,000 new jobs is great news for Ireland and for the northeast. This is a great signal of confidence in Ireland and in our talented workforce," said Mr Kenny.

The new operations centre will be responsible for customer service, risk prevention, financial operations, merchant services and sales across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The company is seeking to fill roles across a range of activities including customer support, operations, finance, sales and compliance. PayPal’s operations in Ireland will deal with customers using 14 languages and half of the positions will require individuals with a second language.

“Our new employees will be joining PayPal at an exciting time. Our vision is to help people pay for things anytime, anywhere and on any type of electronic device. We’re reimagining money to work better for consumers and businesses at a time when the line between the online world and the high street is breaking down," said Louise Phelan, vice president of global operations for PayPal in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Plans to expand in Ireland were first mooted in November when The Irish Times reported that the company was assessing available office buildings in both Dundalk and Limerick. The buildings that were being considered in Limerick included the former Dell plant at Raheen which once housed 1,900 workers.

In addition to premises in Dundalk and Limerick, PayPal also considered the former Quinn Direct office block in Navan but ruled it out because of the absence of a large skilled workforce in the town and its proximity to its Blanchardstown facility.

PayPal is the global leader in online payment solutions. It was founded in 1998 and has 232 million customers in 190 markets worldwide.

PayPal’s European operation centre opened in Dublin in 2003. Since then the number of staff has increased from just 25 to more than 1,400. In 2009, PayPal invested €15 million in the establishment of a European Centre of Excellence in Blanchardstown.

The Dublin centre manages all direct customer contact for PayPal’s businesses across Europe, the Middle East and Africa and its nearly 42 million active accounts in these regions.

More information about the new jobs can be found at paypal.com/ie/jobsinireland or jobs.ebaycareers.com