RBS unveils further job cuts in Ireland

Ireland has found itself at the sharp end of Royal Bank of Scotland's ongoing restructuring programme once again - this time 221 jobs are being cut from its technology services division in Dublin and Belfast.

The bank is closing its Technology Services Division over the next nine months, but said that it would make an effort to transfer some of the computer support staff to the UK where it has "key back office hubs". It will also attempt to keep the redundancies voluntary.

Larry Broderick, general secretary of Irish Bank Officials Association, says: "Given the Irish government's stated position that technology jobs are key to the future of the economy, we are calling on the Tanaiste to make representations to the British government, which now owns 84% of RBS, to seek to retain these IT jobs here."

The fact that the government has flagged IT jobs as being an important growth area for Ireland should offer a glimmer of hope to those RBS workers intending to stay.

As we've mentioned before, the financial IT sector in Ireland is showing signs of growth: "What we have seen financial software vendors both continue to be attracted to the Irish market grow their existing operations here," says Clara Gough, manager of the IT division at recruiters Robert Walters in Dublin.

RBS also cut 108 jobs

from its Irish asset financing division, Lombard, in December last year and made 750 redundancies through the closure of its First Active brand in January 2009.