The Taoiseach has officially opened a new office building to accommodate 1,300 employees at Apple's European headquarters overlooking Cork city.
The global tech giant is Cork's largest private employer currently employing some 6,000 people mainly on the Hollyhill campus on the city's northside.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the contribution the company has made to Cork and Ireland "cannot be overstated - creating thousands of highly-skilled roles and continually investing in their Irish operation".
Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Fergal Dennedy said the company has been a cornerstone of innovation and growth in the city for the last 45 years.
"The company's growth here to become the city's largest private employer mirrors Cork city's own journey from a regional centre to what will be Ireland's fastest growing city-region over the next two decades," he told employees and guests gathered for today's opening.
This evening a civic reception will be held to mark the company's contribution to Cork at City Hall.
Apple has also announced the opening of its first permanent office in Dublin.
The new offices will have the capacity to accommodate up to 300 people at Park Place in Dublin city centre near the Iveagh Gardens.
IDA Ireland welcomed the opening of the office, saying it would "support the ongoing diversification and development of its Irish operations".
Employees will begin to move into the offices later this year and the work there will be similar to that carried out by the company's teams in Cork.
The Cork campus houses teams across the business from operations, engineering and manufacturing to procurement, customer support and AppleCare.
Apple has had an operation in Ireland since 1980 when it first opened a manufacturing facility at Hollyhill with 60 employees.
It currently employs some 6,000 people, from over 90 countries. They support Apple customers in over 130 countries and is responsible for shipping Apple products to over 50 countries.
