A US company, regarded as a leading provider of computer monitoring and management systems, is today set to announce the creation of 180 jobs at a new centre in Galway over the next six years.

The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms Harney, will this morning confirm that NetIQ Corporation is to open a new centre on the eastern outskirts of the city, with the support of IDA Ireland.

The new operations centre will service the European, Middle Eastern and African markets from a base at the Parkmore Industrial Estate, with 80 of the jobs to be created within three years.

This will be the largest investment undertaken by NetIQ outside the US, with the Galway operation providing technical support and financial shared-services functions. The firm will recruit graduates, many with multilingual skills, in a wide range of disciplines.

With headquarters at San Jose, California, NetIQ was founded in 1995 and employs more than 1,200 people in 20 countries. The company had revenues of $278 million (€282.6 million) for the fiscal year ended June 30th last, up $111 million on the previous year.

The Tánaiste claimed the Government had proved that, despite the global downturn, Ireland had retained the capacity and competitiveness to attract investments that would create quality employment in higher value-added activities.

"NetIQ is very welcome to Ireland and to Galway," said Ms Harney. "It is a technology leader in its business and will transfer this knowledge to the Galway operation.

"In addition, NetIQ will create opportunities for suppliers, as already illustrated by the contract for global distribution of its product, which has been awarded to Modus Media in Limerick," she said.

The Tánaiste announced the creation of 470 jobs in Dublin, Dundalk and Arklow earlier this week.