Irish PayPal expansion to create 1,000 jobs

US online payments giant PayPal is to create 1,000 new jobs in Ireland in a major expansion of its operations in the eurozone member, Prime Minister Enda Kenny said on Tuesday.

Kenny said it was a "a great signal of confidence in Ireland and in our talented workforce.

"It is a clear recognition of the opportunities that Ireland offers global leaders like PayPal. This is just the first of many similar announcements over the coming year," Kenny said.

The new European operations centre will be in the town of Dundalk, near the border with Northern Ireland, and the jobs will be created over the next four years.

With an existing Irish centre, the Dundalk development will be responsible for customer service, risk prevention, financial operations, merchant services and sales across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

PayPal, a subsidiary of auction site eBay, first set up an operations centre in Dublin in 2003 and now employs more than 1,400 in the Irish capital.

Ireland is attempting to restore its economy after it was forced to seek an 85-billion-euro ($112 billion) EU-International Monetary Fund rescue package in November 2010 when massive debts left it on the brink of collapse.

Unemployment has soared to more than 14 percent.