Tech giant, IBM, today said it will create 50 jobs in Dublin as part of a new E20 million investment in its Irish operations.

The announcement was made at the opening of a state-of-the-art European Digital Sales Centre at the IBM Technology Campus in Mulhuddart, Dublin.

The Centre is IBM's largest multi-language client engagement centre worldwide. It brings together a specialist IT salesforce working in 19 languages and is a focal point for clients in 21 countries across Europe.

IBM has been in Ireland since 1956 and first established a European Sales Centre in Dublin in 1996. The company currently employs about 3,000 people in Ireland. The new facility was opened by the Tanaiste Joan Burton.

"IBM is the longest established multinational in the country and one of our biggest employers. I am very proud that IBM has chosen Ireland as a location to develop and push the boundaries of technological innovation over the past 60 years," she said.

"I am sure this next chapter in the IBM story, with the opening of its digital sales centre, will redefine how the industry interacts with its clients and partners," Ms Burton added.

A French financial services and software development company has announced 90 jobs over the next two years with the establishment of a base in Dublin.

SideTrade provides payment solutions to companies on 65 countries and will offer the jobs in the areas of accounting, financial expertise and customer support.

The company CEO Olivier Novasque said they had chosen Dublin for its well-educated and motivated workforce.

The investment is being supported by the IDA.

Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton said the announcement was a "boost" for a strategy Government had been pursuing of attracting investment from European countries.

Mater Private Cork today announced the creation of 150 new jobs as it sets about growing its workforce from 100 to 250 over the next two years.

The vast majority of the new jobs are post-graduate posts and include doctors, nurses and allied health professionals.

The announcement comes as part of a E70 million investment that has been made in the 75 bed Mater Private Cork which is located at City Gate, Mahon.

Part of the Mater Private Healthcare Group, the Mater Private in Cork is Ireland's newest hospital. It provides a full range of services and already has a recognised expertise in Cardiology, Orthopaedics, Ophthalmology, Gynaecology, Urology, General Surgery and Gastroenterology. It is covered by all private health insurers and all patients, irrespective of their cover, are treated in single en-suite rooms, which is a first for Ireland.

Speaking at the announcement An Taoiseach Enda Kenny, who was present at the announcement, said: "This is a significant announcement for the people of Cork and the surrounding region. Many of the new positions are highly skilled medical roles, which will be of interest to consultant and other healthcare professionals from the Munster region. Furthermore, this investment by Mater Private Cork will provide the people of Cork and the surrounding counties access to a wide range of innovative private medical services."

Anna Fitzgerald, Chief Executive, Mater Private Cork added: "Since opening in 2013, our objective has been to become the leading private hospital in Munster. Our commitment today, to further increase our workforce by 150, is a further manifestation of this objective. At Mater Private Cork we have already invested very heavily to create Ireland's most modern hospital and to attract to Cork some of Ireland's leading consultants."

Following another sharp expansion in August, activity in the Irish construction sector has now increased in each month throughout the past year.

The latest Ulster Bank Construction Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) shows that growth was supported by another steep rise in new orders, and companies were strongly optimistic that activity will continue to increase over the coming year.

Meanwhile, the rate of input cost inflation quickened to the sharpest since March 2012.

The index registered at 61.4 in August, down slightly from the reading of 62.6 in July but still signalling a strong increase in activity at construction firms in Ireland.

Total activity has now risen in each of the past 12 months. Growth of new work was reportedly the key factor leading activity to rise.

"The August results of the Ulster Bank Construction PMI survey highlight that trends in the Irish construction sector continue to show strong improvement. The headline PMI reading of 61.4 indicates that activity again rose at a rapid rate last month, albeit at a slightly slower pace than in July. The solid improvement continues to be underpinned by particular strength in both the housing and commercial arenas where activity trends are benefiting from substantial increases in new orders," said Simon Barry, Chief Economist Republic of Ireland at Ulster Bank.

"In turn, the solid trends in new business are translating into higher staffing levels, with the employment index recording its twelfth consecutive month of expansion. Indeed, the headline PMI index itself has also now been in expansion territory for the past twelve months as the sector continues to pull away from the deep trough reached following the 2007-13 downturn. Moreover, construction firms are confident that the sector's recovery will remain on track in the coming year. Sentiment rose for the third month in a row in August, taking it to a near-record high, as respondents anticipate that further improvements in both the construction sector itself and the broader economy will result in further activity gains in the coming twelve months."

ACCA Ireland (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is encouraging SMEs to sign up for a new initiative that will equip them with the skills to better understand how to run a business.

Launching on Monday next, the initiative is a global collaboration between ACCA, the University of Exeter Business School and online learning platform FutureLearn.

Together, they are launching a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) - Discovering Business in Society - which is open to all and free to study.

The aim of the eight week course is to teach the principles of business and is intended for working professionals without a background in business, people looking to set up their own business, or anyone looking to upskill. For those interested in entering the finance profession and seeking a route to ACCA qualification, the MOOC can be a starting point.

Liz Hughes, Head of ACCA Ireland, said: "The whole point of this MOOC is that it is all encompassing. It can be a way for someone looking to begin their journey into the finance profession with ACCA, but it could also be a useful resource for someone seeking to start a business, to get a better understanding of what's involved, or for someone looking to return to work with a new set of skills. It's not unusual for people already in work to look to change career, and this gives them a taster of what it might be like in a business environment. It's open to anyone, anywhere, of any age who wants to do it."

"Because it is entirely online, anyone in Ireland with access to the internet can study it. Even if those who study it choose not to use it to further their careers or become entrepreneurs they will have a deeper understanding of how business is relevant in society."

Ireland has risen three places to 25th in the latest World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Index.

The report assesses the competitiveness landscape of 144 economies.

This is Ireland's best ranking in this index since 2009.

It said that, "following the completion of its EU-IMF supported program, this year Ireland experiences a slight rebound and climbs by three places to reach the 25th position, which reflects its financial market recovery".

However, it said that Ireland's macroeconomic situation remains difficult at a low 130th place, characterised by a high budget deficit (although down from the historic highs of four years ago) and high government debt.

"Despite these economic woes, the country features strong foundations for its long-run competitiveness: the functioning of its goods and labor markets, ranked 10th and 18th respectively, is solid, and its business culture is highly sophisticated and innovative (ranked 20th for both); this is buttressed by excellent technological adoption (12th)."

"In addition, equipped with its excellent health and primary education system (8th) and strong higher education and training (17th), the country can draw on a well-educated workforce, although the high levels of emigration in recent years, particularly of its young population, suggests that fewer young people will be available in the future."

Welcoming the ranking, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton said: "Improving our competitiveness is a key part of the Government�s Action Plan for Jobs. By making it easier for Irish companies to do business in world markets, and more attractive for multinational companies to locate operations here, we can make a real difference to the level of job-creation. That is why we have made difficult decisions over the past three years in order to allow us avoid increases in labour taxes, why we have reformed the wage-setting mechanisms to make them fairer and more responsive to changing circumstances, as well as a range of other measures to improve our competitiveness."

"Announcements like this make it easier for me in a very tangible way to go in to boardrooms in cities like Sydney and Melbourne, as well as Boston and Beijing, and try to persuade foreign companies to invest in Ireland. It also makes it easier for Irish companies, with support from my Department through Enterprise Ireland, to sell their goods and services around the world from an Irish base, thus creating jobs at home."

The property market is continuing to gain momentum with the number of transactions for the first six months of the year up by over 39pc on the same period last year.

That's according to a new study based on an analysis of the Property Price Register carried out by property website Myhome.ie.

It shows that there were 15,864 sales nationally between January 1st and June 30th.

That represents a 39.3pc increase on the 11,387 for the same period in 2013.

During this period, every county in the country saw their sales figures rise, while the amount of money spent on property in each of the 26 counties was up in all of them bar Carlow, where the amount spent fell back by 8pc. However it seems this was influenced by the one off sale of Oakley Wood in Tullow for E2.1m back in March 2013.

Unsurprisingly, it was Dublin that led the way in the first six months of the year with 5,240 sales - an increase of 32pc on the 3,966 sales recorded for the same period last year. The amount of money spent in the capital also grew by 46pc to E1.8bn.

The capital was followed by Cork (1,694) and Galway (851) with the commuter counties of Kildare (649) Wicklow (537) and Meath (525) close behind.

Angela Keegan, Managing Director of Myhome.ie said the positive trend of the first six months was very good news for the property sector.

"After some very challenging years the market is growing again and we need it to keep on growing if we are to return to a normally functioning market. Sales are closely linked to employment opportunities and that is why we see more sales in our cities and the commuter belts. While we still have some way to go and the shortage of stock in Dublin and some other urban areas is a real concern - it's clear confidence is returning to the market," Ms Keegan said.

According to the study, the biggest percentage increases were recorded in the midlands and western areas. While Cavan led the way with sales up 114pc, this was helped significantly by the sale of 43 properties in the Clare's Court development on Church Street in Cavan town.

The other counties which saw impressive sales growth were Kilkenny (68pc), Offaly (67pc), Laois (62pc), Mayo (57pc), Sligo (50pc) and Westmeath (49pc).

Ms Keegan said that while these increases were coming off a low base it was heartening to see an increase in sales in these counties as it showed the recovery was beginning to spread from urban areas.

The counties with the lowest number of sales were Monaghan (141), Leitrim (145), Longford (152) and Carlow (157).

The most money was spent in Dublin (E1.8bn), with the least being spent in Longford (E10.6m).

The property market is continuing to gain momentum with the number of transactions for the first six months of the year up by over 39pc on the same period last year.

That's according to a new study based on an analysis of the Property Price Register carried out by property website Myhome.ie.

It shows that there were 15,864 sales nationally between January 1st and June 30th.

That represents a 39.3pc increase on the 11,387 for the same period in 2013.

During this period, every county in the country saw their sales figures rise, while the amount of money spent on property in each of the 26 counties was up in all of them bar Carlow, where the amount spent fell back by 8pc. However it seems this was influenced by the one off sale of Oakley Wood in Tullow for E2.1m back in March 2013.

Unsurprisingly, it was Dublin that led the way in the first six months of the year with 5,240 sales - an increase of 32pc on the 3,966 sales recorded for the same period last year. The amount of money spent in the capital also grew by 46pc to E1.8bn.

The capital was followed by Cork (1,694) and Galway (851) with the commuter counties of Kildare (649) Wicklow (537) and Meath (525) close behind.

Angela Keegan, Managing Director of Myhome.ie said the positive trend of the first six months was very good news for the property sector.

"After some very challenging years the market is growing again and we need it to keep on growing if we are to return to a normally functioning market. Sales are closely linked to employment opportunities and that is why we see more sales in our cities and the commuter belts. While we still have some way to go and the shortage of stock in Dublin and some other urban areas is a real concern - it's clear confidence is returning to the market," Ms Keegan said.

According to the study, the biggest percentage increases were recorded in the midlands and western areas. While Cavan led the way with sales up 114pc, this was helped significantly by the sale of 43 properties in the Clare's Court development on Church Street in Cavan town.

The other counties which saw impressive sales growth were Kilkenny (68pc), Offaly (67pc), Laois (62pc), Mayo (57pc), Sligo (50pc) and Westmeath (49pc).

Ms Keegan said that while these increases were coming off a low base it was heartening to see an increase in sales in these counties as it showed the recovery was beginning to spread from urban areas.

The counties with the lowest number of sales were Monaghan (141), Leitrim (145), Longford (152) and Carlow (157).

The most money was spent in Dublin (E1.8bn), with the least being spent in Longford (E10.6m).

Thirty percent of Irish small firms plan to recruit new staff in the coming months as the economic recovery begins to gather momentum, the latest Jobs Sentiment Survey from the Small Firms Association shows.

It also found that 63pc of firms will retain employee numbers in 2014 while 7pc will reduce employee figures and 45pc expect their pay bill to increase in 2014.

The survey shows the level of lay offs and reduction in employee hours has slowed, which may be a reflection of increased sentiment within the small business community and some positive exchequer figures on the economy.

SFA Director, Patricia Callan stated, "Although the recovery path for the labour market won't entirely be smooth, this survey shows that just over 30pc of small firms plan to increase employee numbers in the second half of 2014 and 63pc will retain their current employment levels. While the figures are positive, 7pc of firms will reduce employee numbers as business input costs and labour costs remain challenging."

"There are sectors such as traded services and hospitality that are showing strong job growth, for other sectors job creation will be fragile and every step must be taken to ensure no additional taxes are placed on labour to ensure job retention and growth," added Ms Callan.

While some firms will retain a recruitment freeze, 27pc of respondents indicated an increase in the recruitment of permanent staff during the final 6 months of 2014 and nearly 29pc will recruit temporary staff. "While firms may be reluctant to recruit based on a number of issues mainly business and financial uncertainty; these figures are a positive move in the right direction," said Ms Callan.