Irishjobs.ie, the number one Irish online recruitment website, has bought Jobs.ie, its closest rival in the online recruiting market.

Maria Mahon, chief executive of IrishJobs, said the acquisition consolidated the group's position as the number one in the market and gave it a foothold in the single job advertising market in which jobs.ie specialises. She declined to say how much IrishJobs had paid for its rival, but said it was a one-off cash payment.

Jobs.ie, which has about 2,500 jobs from 600 clients at any one time, will continue to operate in its current form. Irishjobs, which advertises 45,000 vacancies from 850 clients, will still focus on subscription-based recruitment adverts.