The vice-president of Dell's facility in Limerick, Mr Padraic Allen, will leave the company at the end of January. Dell said in a statement Mr Allen would be replaced by Mr Sean Corkery, currently the chief operating officer of telecoms company Esat.

Esat said it would appoint Ms Lucy Gaffney as its new chief operations officer, to replace Mr Corkery. Ms Gaffney was responsible for setting up Esat Clear, the firm's home telephone and Internet service provider.

Dell said Mr Corkery would take responsibility for the firm's new European manufacturing facility, which it plans to have running by the end of this year.

The company's vice president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Mr Glenn Armbruster, said Mr Allen was leaving to invest time in other interests, and paid tribute to his work at Dell: "Under his direction, Dell has become the largest company in the Limerick region, with 3,800 employees. He also ensured the successful integration of our second European manufacturing facility at Plassey Technology Park."

Esat's chief executive, Mr Denis O'Brien, said Mr Corkery had helped the telecoms firm increase its customer base by 170 per cent, and revenues by more than 300 per cent.

"This represents a hugely important contribution by Sean to the development of the company and particularly in ensuring that the massive growth achieved was managed so professionally and effectively," he said.