Tech-giant Google has come out on top in a new ranking for Ireland’s best employers. The inaugural Sunday Independent/Statista list of Ireland’s 150 Best Employers is based on a comprehensive research project of companies with more than 200 employees.

It comprised of tens of thousands of evaluations, the opinions of thousands of employees and the scores for hundreds of companies.

Research found more than 800 such companies in the Republic of Ireland, with Google ranked best. The company is noted for innovation, collaboration and employee perks, which reportedly include free food and beer at its offices. Employees from 60 different countries are based at its Silicon Docks campus in Dublin.

Dublin Bus is the best ranked Irish company on the list as runner-up to Google. Transport operators performed well, with Irish Rail ranked third overall.

In total, 6,500 employees from organisations across Ireland took part in the research project, with a willingness to recommend their employers as a place to work to family and friends at the core for scoring the companies studied. Employees were also asked about various aspects of their job, work environment and the reputation of their employer. In total, 75,000 evaluations were collected and employers were ranked by their average scores.

US-owned TK Maxx is the highest ranked retailer on the list, in fourth place. The Irish Wheelchair Association completes the top five as the highest-ranked charity.