The Prime Minister of Ireland, Leo Varadkar, recently visited eBay’s office in Dublin to learn more about the company’s business in Ireland, meet local Irish eBay sellers and hear about eBay’s work in the community. Derek Allgood, eBay’s Vice President, Global Customer Experience, welcomed the Prime Minister and highlighted the success of eBay’s Retail Expansion Program, growth of the eBay@Home initiative, and the company’s charity and community partners. The company also created an eBay Ireland Expo for the visit, comprising different focus areas for the business including its support for local communities, local businesses and the Irish economy, which is in line with Government policy of aiming to make Ireland a better country for all of its people.

eBay’s Retail Expansion Program launched in Ireland earlier this year and supports small, local Irish businesses and helps them to reach new audiences both in Ireland and around the world. Fifty-six business joined the pilot program in March and generated an additional €1.6 million in sales. The program has been so successful that an additional 51 businesses from Tralee and Dundalk have come onboard and will be supported by eBay with dedicated, personalized training programs.

eBay@Home launched in Ireland in 2017 and is a remote working program that invites the incredible pool of talent that exists in towns and communities across Ireland to join the eBay team. More than 150 eBay employees currently work from home and this number is set to increase to 200 by the end of 2019, following a recent recruitment drive.

During his visit to the eBay Ireland Expo, Prime Minister Varadkar met some of eBay’s charity and community partners including Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, Junior Achievement and Temple Street Children’s Hospital; many of the causes supported by eBay are selected by its employees. Two of eBay’s central tenants are empowering people and creating opportunity and Derek Allgood explained to the Prime Minister how this ambition referred not only to eBay buyers, but to sellers, employees and communities all over Ireland.

eBay Ireland in numbers

• One million: There were one million active eBay buyers in Ireland last year
• 12: The average number of countries that Irish sellers export to; the top countries include the UK, Germany, the US, Australia and France
• 68%: 68% of professional Irish sellers export their products
• 79%: eBay started as a place to recycle unwanted gifts but now, 79% of what is sold on the e-commerce site is brand-new
• The iPhone 6 is the most searched-for item in eBay.ie’s history.
• eBay Ireland opened its doors in 2004.
• 3.6 million: There were 3.6 million live listings from Irish sellers on eBay last year