DUBLIN (Reuters) - Mastercard Inc plans to hire 1,500 more staff in Dublin over the next three to five years, more than trebling its workforce in one of Ireland’s largest single multinational jobs announcements.

The U.S. credit card issuer has had a presence in Dublin since 2008 where it set up its research and development arm, Mastercard Labs, four years later. Its workforce will increase to more than 2,000 from 650 now, IDA Ireland, the state agency competing to win foreign jobs, said in a statement on Monday.

That matched the 1,500 jobs U.S. cloud software company Salesforce.com said it would add over a similar period a year ago, which at the time IDA Ireland said marked one of the largest job announcements in its 70-year history.

Foreign multinationals, particularly in the technology sector, employ about a quarter of a million people in Ireland, accounting for one in 10 jobs in the fast growing economy.

“This is excellent news and further proof of Ireland’s place as a global hub for technology. The 1,500 jobs being created at Mastercard are high quality, skilled positions,” Acting Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said in a statement.

Mastercard, which like other financial payments companies is investing heavily in technology, said it aimed to recruit staff in the growing areas of cyber security, artificial intelligence, blockchain and user experience.

It will take on 22,500 square meters of additional space in two newly built office blocks near its current location in south Dublin to facilitate expansion in what the company said will become its European technology hub.

That will also make Mastercard the latest technology company to establish a campus-style site in Dublin after Microsoft’s LinkedIn, Alphabet’s Google and Facebook bought or leased large spaces in the city.

The head of IDA Ireland said last month that he expects the strong multinational jobs growth to continue in the first half of 2020, but subdued global economic growth, continued trade tensions and capacity constraints in Ireland posed significant risks beyond that.