110 new jobs are to be created in Dublin by global construction services firm Turner & Townsend.
It comes amid significant growth in the business, which reported a turnover of more than €40m over the last year.
The new staff will be in addition to the 400 people already working for the company in offices in Dublin, Cork and Belfast.
Many of the new roles will be in the areas like quantity surveying and project management, in the infrastructure and real estate units of the business.
“Over the past three years, we have experienced substantial growth in Ireland, more than doubling our workforce to nearly 400 nationwide,” said Philip Matthews, Managing Director for Turner & Townsend Ireland.
“This expansion stems from both deepening relationships with existing clients and diversifying our expertise to attract new business.”
Turner & Townsend Ireland is projecting growth of 20% this year and Mr Matthews said the company hopes to grow its Irish workforce to 600 next year.
The announcement comes as the company officially opened its new office in Dublin, 1GQ, which is overlooking the Liffey.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
“Our new Dublin office at 1GQ reflects this growth while also creating an environment that encourages innovation and collaboration with clients and colleagues alike,” said Mr Matthews.
The new office was opened by the Minister for Finance Jack Chambers.
“It is really important we align infrastructure delivery with the pace of economic and population growth,” he said.
He added that the country needs to catch up in many critical areas of infrastructure and the Government is committed to doing that “in a responsible and a coherent way, focusing on value for money, cost effectiveness, but also competitiveness.”
Turner & Townsend offers project management, cost management, project controls, digital and advisory services across various sectors.
It is involved in working on some of the largest infrastructure projects in the country, including Metrolink, daa’s capital investment programme, Eirgrid’s Celtic Interconnector and with Uisce Éireann.
In Dublin’s residential sector, it is working with developer Ballymore to deliver its St James’s Gate scheme and with Marlet Property Group on Lime Street.
“While it is positive to see that the ambition and investment into key major programmes such as Metrolink, appear to have cross party political support, there is no single supporter or champion for infrastructure investment and delivery,” said John Robinson, infrastructure lead for Turner & Townsend in Ireland.
“A Department of Infrastructure could be the driver Ireland needs.”
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr Matthews said a specific ministerial position should be created to manage “multi-annual” projects.
“The problem we find is, there’s not multi-annual budgets. You get your capital projects or budget set for the year and you go back in for funding in the following year. We need someone who is going to champion these projects,” he said.
He said that the Government should be putting more money towards infrastructure as part of the next budget.
“Hopefully this is a giveaway budget. When I say giveaway – there’s extra investment in infrastructure, which is clearly needed. Perhaps with the recent windfall, some of that might go towards water, power and housing – which is badly needed.”
Globally Turner & Townsend employs 10,000 people across 48 countries.