A US pharmaceutical company that invested $50m (€37m) to create 100 jobs at Ringaskiddy in Co Cork has announced that it is to hire another 40 people.
The move comes before the plant goes into production.
BioMarin, which manufactures treatments for rare diseases, says there is potential to create many more jobs at the Cork plant.
The 12,000sq.m plant that the company occupies was purchased from Pfizer three years ago when it became surplus to its requirements.
Meanwhile, a research centre is being established at the Tyndall Institute in Cork city, which aims to create 200 jobs.
Around €31m is being invested in a cutting-edge research project to develop tiny photonic sensors used in medical devices and in the aerospace industry.
It is envisaged that 100 researchers from universities and ITs in Cork and Dublin will work on 30 projects at the Irish Photonic Integration Centre.
