Firms to create 200 jobs

Two hundred jobs are to be created in two separate investments, it was revealed tonight.

Merck, the seventh largest pharmaceutical company in the world, is to take on 170 staff over the next three years at a new plant in Carlow town.

The €200m vaccine facility will see the firm's Irish workforce rise to more than 620.

Financial software firm Fincad are to take on 30 staff in a €500,000 investment in Blackrock, south Dublin.

Minister for Enterprise Micheal Martin said Merck would be a huge boost for the local Carlow economy.

"The global competition for this investment has been intense and the decision to locate it in Ireland follows an international site selection study," he said.

"This latest investment represents a very significant consolidation of Ireland's high profile position as a successful location for substantial biotechnology global investments."

It will be Merck's third investment in Ireland after opening a pharmaceutical plant in Ballydine, Co Tipperary and a corporate centre in Leopardstown, south Dublin.

The project will support expanding global business in human vaccines and biologics employing a highly skilled workers in management, quality control, production, engineering, R&D and administration.

The company is also hoping to link up with colleges and universities in the area of biologics production.

Dr John T McCubbins, vice president of Global Vaccine manufacturing for Merck, praised the Carlow area.

"The site for this investment, which is a critical part of Merck's strategy for the future, required a location where we are confident the necessary skilled people, support infrastructure and track record in implementing projects of this scale exists - that is why we chose Ireland," he said.

Meanwhile, the new Fincad facility will develop and support the company's international growth and manage relationships with clients in Europe, Middle East and Africa. The Blackrock centre will be its new European headquarters.

The company provides more than 1,400 financial modelling products including commodities, convertible bonds, credit equity through to fixed income, foreign exchange and municipal bonds among others.

The software allows institutions to mitigate the impact of market uncertainty by assessing investment risks.

Bob Park, Fincad chief executive officer, said the Irish tax system was one of the big attractions in locating here.

"We chose Ireland because the people are predominately English speaking, well educated, trained, experienced people with multilingual capabilities," Mr Park said.

"Ireland has a stable government, a stable economy and is also very friendly to businesses setting up here - the beneficial tax regime was an added bonus."