Áine Mulcahy, Managing Director of OCS Ireland, was recently interviewed by the Irish Independent. The interview covers her thirteen years leading the business, the transformation from a cleaning services provider into a technology-enabled total facilities manager, and the central role of people in everything the company delivers. A condensed version of the key themes follows.
Áine Mulcahy
Managing Director – Ireland
OCS Ireland has doubled in size in three years. Turnover grew from €68m in 2022 to €125m in 2025, with €150m on track for 2026. The business now supports close to 400 customers across Ireland, from SMEs to multinationals operating multiple sites. Long-term partnerships include Dublin Airport, Cork Airport, Tesco, AbbVie and Uisce Éireann.
Colleague numbers have grown in step. OCS Ireland has gone from 1,800 to 3,500 people in four years.
“We don’t manufacture green bottles. We’re a people business,” Mulcahy says. “95% of our teams work in somebody else’s business. That’s a big responsibility.”
A broader service offer
OCS Ireland began as a cleaning services provider and today operates as a full integrated facilities management partner. Soft services, including cleaning, security, pest control, landscaping, front-of-house, and health and safety, sit alongside hard services such as mechanical and electrical, building fabric and fire safety. The hard services side now accounts for 40% of turnover. Customers can take a bundled offer or a single service line, with OCS supporting consolidation where it adds operational value.
Aviation is a particular area of expertise. It accounts for 20% of turnover, with above-the-wing services at Dublin, Cork and Belfast airports, including hold baggage screening. One of the most visible contracts is the Person with Reduced Mobility (PRM) service at Dublin Airport, supporting passengers with both visible and invisible disabilities.
The recent acquisition of Top Security, the first in OCS Ireland’s history, brings a nationwide monitoring network, an alarm-receiving centre and an independent radio communications network into the business. The integration will give OCS 24/7 visibility across its portfolio.
A different view of AI
OCS Ireland’s position on artificial intelligence is direct.
“We are one of the few industries that isn’t looking at AI as a means of headcount reduction,” Mulcahy says. “Facilities management is a frontline delivery service, and so the importance of our people is not going to change.”
Data, she argues, shifts the conversation customers have with their FM partner.
“What data allows us to do is to analyse what is happening in terms of cost control in a building. That allows our clients to make smart decisions and smart choices… We are moving away from the old ‘I’m paying for this amount of hours of labour’ conversation to something that is much more about value added.”
People at the centre
Talent management is what makes the growth possible. OCS Ireland’s vetting, recruitment and HR processes are, Mulcahy says, the linchpin of the business. 50% of the management team is female. 40% of colleagues come from an international background.
“Labour availability and workforce stability is what underpins facilities management. If you have a stable workforce who are very good at what they do, regardless of the niche they work in, then you can deliver a best-in-class service. That allows you to develop your relationships and as your clients grow, you grow with them.”
The trust customers place in OCS, she says, is what the business is built on.
“If somebody is literally entrusting you with the keys of their business you need to ensure that the people you bring in are the right people and that they are trained to a very high standard.”
