Bank of Ireland announces multi-million investment in Tallaght

New state of the art Customer Contact Centre. Bank now largest business employer in Tallaght

Bank of Ireland officially opened the doors of its new state of the art Group Customer Contact Centre in Tallaght today, 17 April 2008. The €15m investment is as a result of the Group’s development of a new office location at the Arena Complex, which will house over 500 staff in a purpose built modern office. The move consolidates staff that have occupied three separate locations in Tallaght for the past seven years. The new premises will also provide additional accommodation to support further growth in the business.

Speaking at the official opening, Brian Goggin, Group Chief Executive, Bank of Ireland said: “This is a significant investment for Bank of Ireland and reaffirms our position as the largest business employer in the Tallaght area. The Group Customer Contact Centre originally commenced operations in Tallaght in 1990 with 35 staff. Today, we employ over 500 staff, a third of whom live locally. An additional 40 employees are based in our commercial branch in Tallaght.

“Our relocation to the new consolidated premises demonstrates the continuing growth in our business. In the past year, the Contact Centre in Tallaght channelled almost 39m direct interactions with customers, both online and phone.

“Our commercial branch in Tallaght recently moved to a new modern premises at Prior’s Gate, highlighting another significant investment in the locality. Both locations signify a substantial investment by the Bank and endorses our commitment to providing customers with the highest standards in service and the best in class banking environment, whilst also providing a modern working environment for our staff”, concluded Brian Goggin.

The Group Customer Contact Centre provides customer service and sales support across most of the Group’s product lines in Ireland and the UK. The Contact Centre in Tallaght is one of three hubs, the other two of which are located in Kilkenny and Bristol. These three Contact Centres have channelled over 50 million customer interactions in the past year.

Bank of Ireland occupies an entire building of 67,500 sq.ft. ground floor over basement, with four upper floors on a 20 year lease. The design of the contact centre was developed using knowledge gained from similar centres in Ireland and the UK. As staff spend many hours on the phone, the design delivers a bright, colourful working environment. It has generous break out areas and a cafE style staff restaurant with numerous balconies overlooking the Dublin mountains.

The Arena Complex in Tallaght is a large mixed-use scheme incorporating retail warehousing, residential, a hotel and offices and is located on the corner of Tallaght by-pass and Whitestown Way. The Contact Centre was designed following evaluation of similar state of the art energy efficient contact centres in Europe. The building has state of the art technology for phone and data networks. It is convenient to public transport and within walking distance of the Tallaght town centre.

Ends

17 April 2008

For further information contact:
Cora Whyte
Group Corporate Communications
Bank of Ireland
Tel: 01 604 3324 – 086 8102807