While foreign investment has obvious direct benefits, Ireland’s currently strong FDI performance is producing very significant economic benefits all over the country, particularly for the construction industry. One of the most clear examples of this is in the city of Limerick, in the south-west region of Ireland.

There the highly innovative bio-pharma company Regeneron is investing $300m in a new state-of-the-art biopharmaceutical facility which will employ 300 scientists, engineers, technicians and administrative personnel when fully operational by 2016. But also vital is the lift such a large project gives to local building firms and their workers, plus downstream suppliers. The two-year construction programme from Regeneron, which will transform the site into a world-class biopharmaceutical campus, is making excellent progress and currently employs over 250 people from local contracting firms. The construction involves major refurbishment of a former Dell facility in Raheen Business Park, as well as the construction of a quality control laboratory.

Regeneron is one of the largest and fastest-growing biopharmaceutical companies in the US. Limerick will become the company’s second production site, expanding its manufacturing capacity into Europe and facilitating the delivery of a growing supply of medicines for patients worldwide. The Regeneron investment in Limerick is great news for the local economy. The company is making a major commitment to Ireland by refurbishing the unoccupied facility, creating a substantial number of both construction and long term permanent jobs. Initial recruitment has progressed well and Regeneron has already recruited over 50 people, many of whom have spent time in the company’s up-state New York facility for training and familiarisation. The company is expecting to significantly increase recruitment during 2015.

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