The chief financial officer of global internet company Yahoo has said the business has developed a base in Ireland primarily because of the available talent pool.
Ken Goldman said other reasons why the firm is located in Ireland include the stability of the country, its membership of the EU and the excitement and optimism.
He was speaking at the official opening of the company's new EMEA headquarters at the Point Village in Dublin by Taoiseach Enda Kenny.
The company expanded its presence in Ireland 2013 by 200, and now employs 320 people.
Last year the company moved certain functions out of London and into Dublin, reportedly in response to concerns about revelations that British intelligence had been secretly capturing images and video from Yahoo webcams.
As a result its European users' data is now subject to Ireland's data protection laws.
Pat Scully, Yahoo Managing Director for Europe Middle East and Africa, said the company acts responsibly when it comes to data control and that the Dublin office takes its regional role in relation to data handling seriously.
He said Yahoo respects the rights of its users and it values the certainty and the opportunity to work within a framework where it can contribute and input.
He said he did not think the revelations about spying had damaged Yahoo's business, and that concerns about privacy were industry wide.
Yahoo has taken three floors in the new building and has capacity to expand its staff further if required.
It has spent $12m on developing the new premises.
Functions carried out by Yahoo in Ireland include finance, human resources, ad operations and customer experience support.
