More than 250 new Donegal jobs were announced yesterday as two companies pledged to expand their workforces and a third company plans to open up.

Pramerica Systems Ireland said it would recruit a further 150 people to work at its software development operations in Letterkenny, while E&I Engineering announced the expansion of its headquarters in Burntfoot with the addition of 67 new engineering and research and development positions.

A further 40 positions will also be created at a new €20 million Letterkenny leisure complex, which is due to open at the end of June.

Speaking in response to the announcement by E&I Engineering, Mary Coughlan, Minister for Agriculture and Food, said the expansion was extremely significant for Donegal and the northwest.

"E&I Engineering is an excellent example of a dynamic Irish company based in the northwest region that is competing successfully in the international construction markets."

The timing of the announcement is seen as significant as it comes amid concerns about the increasing value of the euro against the dollar and the difficulties this is causing Irish exporters.

Philip O'Doherty, E&I Engineering's founder and managing director, dismissed these concerns, saying it was possible for Irish companies like E&I to succeed in the export arena by ensuring the R&D it conducted was tailored to the needs of each particular region.

He said the creation of the new research and development centre with a dedicated team would help drive the group's international competitiveness in the future.

E&I's expansion, which will bring its total workforce to 250, is being supported by Enterprise Ireland.

Meanwhile Pramerica Systems, a subsidiary of Prudential Financial, said as well as the 70 new software development and customer service positions it was seeking to fill immediately, it would add further capacity to facilitate the recruitment of 80 more personnel in the future. The company already employs 550.