AS a direct result of its acquisition last year of the Bank of Bermuda, global banking giant HSBC is hiring staff in Ireland as total employee numbers remain static in Bermuda.

"The financial services company HSBC has hired 120 people since the start of the year as the Irish-based funds business expands," reported the Irish and has budgeted to hire more staff this year and next year."

It was thought to be inevitable that administrative and support positions would eventually migrate from Bermuda's higher-salary environment to a relatively cheaper jurisdiction, and Ireland fits the bill.

"HSBC employs about 500 people in its funds business in Dublin, which is growing rapidly following the acquisition of the Bank of Bermuda last year," wrote the Neil Callanan. "The bank is close to signing a deal for office space formerly occupied by Vodafone in Sandyford, south Dublin."

"We started off planning a new 3-4,000-square-foot training centre, but we are stretched for expansion space so much, we will take as much as 23,000 square feet there," said an HSBC spokesman.

A company web site reports that HSBC Fund Administration (Ireland) Ltd. is "involved in the provision of fund administration, company secretarial and registrar services, and employs fund administrators, fund accountants, share registration and support staff".

HSBC Ireland is "engaged in a diverse range of financial services, including fund administration, commercial banking, consumer finance and insurance."

The HSBC Bank of Bermuda total workforce is effectively unchanged; there were 1,061 employees last July, and there are 1,060 now. The bank was unable, at relatively short notice, to provide information comparing the number of employees in different employment categories, but it is understood that the Global Fund Services operation was completely restructured and emerged from that process as Alternative Fund Services.

Ireland has been widely considered the most competitive jurisdiction in the EU for financial services and administration, and may provide a considerable challenge to Bermuda going forward.

Last week, the Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) of Forfas, the national policy advisory board which operates under the auspices of the Irish Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment issued a report which made no bones about Ireland's ambition to compete more forcefully with jurisdictions such as Bermuda for international financial services business.

After a decade of sustained growth, Ireland's GDP per capita grew from 69 per cent of the "EU-15" GDP in 1993 to 125 per cent of that average in 2003.

The report sees that "opportunities in internationally-traded services across a range of sectors and activities will play a more significant role in Ireland's economy over the next decade, driven by increased national trade and enabled by advances in technology and Ireland's low corporate tax regime".

Ireland's corporate tax rate of 12.5 per cent was introduced in January 2003, and has been progressively reduced from 40 per cent in 1998; the report emphasises the importance of remaining competitive in that environment.

"As corporation tax rates are falling internationally, future stability and a commitment to the current rate are required to maintain Ireland's international competitiveness, particularly for mobile investment. Strong messages to this effect are required from Government.

"Ireland has historically enjoyed a strong international reputation for the calibre of its educational system, and the generally high standards of education within the workforce", wrote the ESG, and highlighted concerns that have been frequently expressed here and in the US.

"The rapid pace of technological improvement and the increasing sophistication of business processes and systems now demand higher levels of academic achievement and greater links between the education sector and enterprise than ever before."

The ESG identified "five sources of competitive advantage which, taken together, can enable enterprise in Ireland to achieve this vision: the development of international marketing and sales expertise to bring enterprise closer to customer needs; development of world-class capability in focused areas of technology and in innovative techniques, to drive the development of high-value products and services; building on Ireland's historic commitment to education with a renewed focus on excellence and responsiveness to deliver skills appropriate to the needs of enterprise; an ongoing commitment to our competitive tax regime, promoting enterprise and driving business growth; and a single-minded national consensus on the enterprise agenda, driven from the highest level and across all of Government, together with governance systems which enable swift decision-making and execution."

In yesterday's columnist Bob Herbert drew readers' attention to some educational realities in the US which are similar to those found in Bermuda.

"Nationally, only about two-thirds of all students ? and only half of all blacks, Latinos and Native Americans ? who enter ninth grade graduate with regular diplomas four years later. Over all, the US has one of the highest high-school dropout rates in the industrialised world, which can't be comforting news in the ferociously competitive environment of an increasingly globalised economy."

It is understood that one of Bermuda's leading international sector companies has identified Dublin, Geneva and Luxembourg as alternative locations if internal or external factors make Bermuda a less attractive jurisdiction.

HSBC Ireland was unable to respond to questions about personnel matters by press time.