Oracle Ireland will create 96 new jobs as its Oracle University division sets up a new e-learning section in Oracle's East Point offices in Dublin.

The division is already up and running, with an initial 50 employees taken on in recent weeks. The company plans to create an additional 46 permanent jobs by September or early October, according to the new managing director of Oracle Ireland, Mr Nicky Sheridan.

However, he says the total number of employees across the company in the State will remain about the same, as Oracle has been gradually reducing the number of employees in its shared services division.

The centre offers online courses and trains customers in the use of Oracle products.

Mr Sheridan said Oracle had considered numerous locations for the Oracle University centre and that the Republic had come out on top. But earlier, Oracle vice-president Mr Sergio Giacoletto noted in his opening keynote speech at an Oracle conference in London that the Republic was beginning to lose its competitive lead in the technology sector to other nations such as India.

Commenting on Mr Giacoletto's remarks, Mr Sheridan said, "I don't think Oracle would have a concern about remaining in Ireland in the future. There's no real danger to the operations in Ireland." While the company did have some concerns about the changing competitive environment, including factors such as inflation and salary costs, Mr Sheridan said the decision to place the Oracle University e-learning division in the Republic "gives a good indication of how strategic Ireland is".

The State now serves as a "reference site" for people considering using Oracle's products and services to consolidate their IT operations or to move to a shared services operation, he said.

In addition, a third of the licence revenues for Oracle software comes from the Dublin operations, he said. "The quality of work coming out of Ireland is excellent, and is seen to be excellent," he said. The company employs 1,000 across the State.

Mr Sheridan recently took over as managing director of the Irish Oracle operation. With a background in accountancy and finance, Mr Sheridan left the Republic for the United States in 1988 to work for KPMG and Coopers & Lybrand (now part of PricewaterhouseCoopers).

He joined Oracle in California as an audit manager, went to Sydney, Australia, as finance director and since 1993 has worked in various European Oracle offices. He replaces Mr Dermot Kelly, who is moving to the British office.