Bord na Mona 'green' jobs to benefit Ballivor

Meath is expected to benefit from a number of new jobs following the announcement by Bord na Mona that it will be creating 300 new "green" jobs across the country. Bord na Mona has a site at Ballivor in Co Meath and it is hoped that some of the new Bord na Mona jobs will come to the south Meath town that was devastated by the closure of its main employer NEC semiconductors almost three years ago. A spokesperson for Bord na Mona said that while they did not yet have a geographical breakdown of where the jobs are going, she was confident that the 300 jobs would have some impact in Meath and though they could not pinpoint where the jobs are going yet, she was confident that Meath would see benefit. She added the jobs were across a broad base of Bord na Mona businesses and the impact would reach many parts of the country. The programme is expected to be rolled out over the next two to three years with a lot of activity expected in the first two years. Bord na Mona made the jobs announcement as it launched its annual report for 2008-2009 which showed strong financial figures for the past year and they also published their first sustainabiliity report, which announced ambitious sustainability targets for the company over the next five years. The 300 jobs will be created in green energy, resource recovery and environmental solutions using Bord na Móna's innovative green technologies. The annual report showed that profits across the key core business areas - fuels, energy and resource recovery - are up, with operating profit for the past year standing at €23.8 million, up €1.3 million on the previous year's results. Company turnover for the past year stands at €401.6 million, up 8 per cent on the previous year and a dividend of €12.9 million was paid to shareholders. These figures provide a platform for Bord na Móna to diversify its operations and to significantly grow the business. In this regard, Bord na Móna will announce significant planned capital investments in a range of products and services that are beneficial to the environment, encompassing electricity, heating solutions, resource recovery, water, horticulture and related services.