More than 15% of the estimated 20,000 people who commute daily from Meath to Dublin have added their names to a database that aims to hook up potential employees with businesses considering locating in the county.

Of the 3,100 names registered with the website www. workinmeath. ie, 95% already live in the county according to Frank Fitzmaurice, economic development officer at Meath county council.

Some 21% work in financial services and the investment by Quinn Direct will give many of them an opportunity to find work at home. Another 22% work in Dublin's software and information technology companies and attracting new employers from these industries to locate in Meath is the next priority, Fitzmaurice said.

Two-thirds of the people on the database earn under 45,000 a year, with 38% in the 31,000 45,000 income band. Threequarters are aged under 35, with 32% in the age bracket 26-30.

Because of its location in Dublin's commuter belt, the population of Meath is one of the fastest-growing in Ireland, with this year's census recording a population of 162,000 people, up from 134,000 five years earlier.