Love is... a new Irish Life building!
FIRM TO CONSTRUCT NEW BUILDING TO ACCOMMODATE EXPANSION PLANS WITH MORE JOBS IN THE PIPELINE
FINANCIAL services company Irish Life used Valentine’s Day to show their love for Dundalk by announcing they are to construct a new state of the art customer services centre at Finnabair Business Park which could see a doubling of the current 160 workforce.
The blossoming of the 15-year love affair with Dundalk was revealed by Irish Life CEO David Harney at a special event at the Crowne Plaza on Tuesday.
The firm, which started in 2002 with just 25 people in the town, will apply to Louth County Council for planning permission in the coming weeks and, if the process goes smoothly, construction on the new 45,000sqft customer service centre would start this summer, with completion expected in 2018.
FINANCIAL services company Irish Life chose Valentine’s Day to announce that their ‘ love affair’ with Dundalk was blossoming and reveal their ambitious plans to build a state of the art customer service centre that could accommodate double the current workforce of 160.
The company, which started in Dundalk 15 years ago with an initial staff of 25, said it would build a new 45,000sqft office on 1.6 hectares at the Finnabair Business Park. Irish Life, which is part of the global Great-West Lifeco group of companies, said they plan to submit an application to Louth County Council in the coming weeks.
It is hoped, CEO of Irish Life, David Harney said, that the planning process would go smoothly and work will start on constructing the new building this summer, with completion scheduled for 2018.
All current Irish Life employees based in Dundalk will move from their current location at Finnabair, which comprises 20,000sqft to the new building, which, Mr Harney said, ‘ has the capacity for future growth’.
The new building will accommodate omni-channel customer service contacts in an open plan office space over three floors, including associated car parking spaces and landscaping.
In an interview with the Argus following the announcement on Tuesday, Mr Harney said that Irish Life had grown from 25 staff to 160 in 15 years and the building it currently occupied was coming towards the end of the lease. He said he expected the building would be able to accommodate double the current workforce, ‘which we would hope to grow quickly’.
He said the business, which doesn’t require foreign language speakers, is looking to increase customer contacts with a growing customer base in Ireland and would not be affected by Brexit.
In announcing the plans, Mr Harney said: ‘We are delighted to make this expansion announcement, which reinforces our continues commitment to the local area and our employees based in Dundalk.
‘As one of Ireland’s largest employers, this commitment to a new premises demonstrates our investment in the future of service operations in the area as we continue to grow our pension, investment and health business.
‘ The expansion of our operations in Dundalk is an indication of our future growth strategy for the company, in keeping with our ambitious plans for 2017 and beyond. A new and larger premises for our customer service centre also reflects our continued customer-first focus, which is a core element of our business’.
Mr Harney praised the hard working staff in Dundalk for their years of commitment to growing the operation in Dundalk and to their high standards of customer focus and care. He said Dundalk had played a pivotal role in growing the overall business in Ireland.