Northgate signs lease for new National Business Centre for Castlebar

Northgate signs lease for new National Business Centre in Castlebar


Áine Ryan

FOURTEEN months after the initial news that health services company, Northgate would be creating 150 jobs in Castlebar, the company has confirmed it has signed a lease for its new National Business Centre, in the suburban village of Breaffy.
A statement confirmed that Northgate has also begun its recruitment process to attract new staff with the first ten beginning work in April.
“In the long term, the plans are to take on a total of 150 new staff roles. In the coming months the company will start to deliver a number of Irish contracts and will continue to explore new business opportunities to expand the workforce in Castlebar,” a spokeswoman for the company said.
“Finding the  right location from our long term investment into Castlebar took longer than expected. Now that we have secured the Breaffy road facility, we can begin recruiting on a solid foundation able to deliver critical services to Irish customers,” said Executive Director, Joe Bradley.
“With the right premises we can now focus on developing and growing the company in Castlebar, taking on local talent to provide invaluable services in Ireland to the public sector, including the health service, local government, central government and the Garda,” he continued.  
During the original announcement in December 2013, the much-needed jobs boost for the county town was overshadowed by a shock announcement of significant job losses at the Baxter plant.
At the time, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the news was ‘an indication of the confidence of a major service provider in the Irish economy’ and, moreover that ‘the investment and additional jobs were particularly welcome in the west of Ireland’.
A private company specialising in public service contract work, Northgate operates around the world and  currently has 100 employees in Ireland. It runs a newborn hearing screening programme for the HSE in public maternity hospitals and also operates computer file management systems for some other hospitals.