Some 125 jobs are being created at separate firms in Shannon and Kilkenny.

Data and cloud solutions company Amax is opening its European manufacturing facility at Western Business Park in Shannon with the creation of 100 positions.

This will be the firm's European manufacturing facility and its logistics hub. The company, which is headquartered in California, also has multiple bases in China.

The jobs will be created over the next five years in production, warehousing, finance and sales in the local community.

The development is supported by the Department of Jobs through IDA Ireland.

Minister for Business Ged Nash said: "Today's announcement by Amax is fantastic news for Shannon and the greater Limerick and Clare areas."

"This new facility will bring a very welcome jobs boost to the region and is a real vote of confidence in the Shannon area and the calibre of the workforce available here," he added.

Meanwhile 25 jobs are to be filled at TransferMate Global Payments in Kilkenny.

The foreign exchange broker is looking to hire business development and sales staff for its global payments centre to help clients in Europe, North America and Australia.

Stephen Hickey, human resources manager at TransferMate, said: "We are accepting CVs from applicants from today with a view to conducting interviews in the coming weeks."

"Our recruitment across Ireland to date has been very successful - last year we hired 15 staff. We found some excellent people in the last few months for key positions such as business development and finance," he added.