The first sod has been turned on the site of a new manufacturing plant in Athenry, Co Galway, which will see the creation of up to 1,000 jobs.
The US multi-national Dexcom company produces continuous glucose monitoring technologies for the management of diabetes.
The G7 product provides patients with automatic glucose readings which are sent to their smart device.
This is Dexcom's first manufacturing site in Europe and the 40,000sq/m facility will be located on the town's IDA landbank.
In addition to the 1,000 jobs being rolled out in the coming years, there will be 500 jobs in construction.
The investment of €300m over the next five years includes plans for a four-storey facility with an outdoor landscaped 'Wild Plaza' and a 2.1km nature trail, as well as new access roads and pedestrian footpaths.
The Athenry plant will have the capacity to produce tens of millions of glucose monitors annually with recruitment under way for highly skilled graduates and technician level positions.
Speaking after turning the sod, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Simon Coveney said this project would be transformative for the west of Ireland
"What's happening here today is a really big good news story for the west.
"Dexcom is a big multinational that is making a huge difference in terms of the medtech world and spending over €300 million here.
"They're going to employ over 1,000 people in this campus, and they're going to employ over 500 people for the building of it over the next few years.
"So for a town like Athenry this is transformative.
"But it's also a reminder of just how competitive Ireland is globally, to attract global businesses to build some of the most advanced manufacturing facilities anywhere in the world here in Galway.
"And it's a reminder that we're doing things well here and sometimes I think we need to remind ourselves of that."
Barry Regan, Executive Vice President of Global Operations at Dexcom, said the plant would be up and running in two-and-a-half years and recruitment was already underway.
"We've recruited our senior management team and we've had a fantastic response lots of talented, skilled Irish people who are living abroad actually.
"They reached out to me and said, 'I left Ireland because I didn't have an opportunity. And I'd love to come back to the west, given you know, your investments here'."
"So it was great to hear and we're going to be hiring 1,000 people - engineers, scientists, finance people, HR high end jobs and we offer a very competitive and attractive compensation here.
"We hope we're a compelling option for people and we'd love for people to come to Dexcom and start their career or finish their career with us."
He explained why Athenry was the choice for the first Dexcom manufacturing plant in Europe, saying they had initially looked at ten sites once they had decided on Ireland.
"Athenry had everything we were looking for, particularly its location in relation to the motorway.
"So we're on the Dublin Galway motorway, 3KM from the Limerick to Sligo motorway. So within a 30 minute commute, we have access to 750,000 people and I think we'll offer a different proposition here, you know, more of a rural provincial lifestyle.
"You don't have the traffic and the congestion working in a big city and access to a lot of affordable housing and all the communities around out there right. So that's why we picked this site."
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