270 new jobs announced for Limerick

Ethicon Biosurgery Ireland has announced plans to create 270 jobs in Co Limerick over the next five years.

There will also be 150 temporary construction jobs as part of the €80 million investment by the company in a manufacturing facility at the National Technology Park in Plassey.

The facility will manufacture a product that aids in stopping bleeding during surgery.

The company, which is part of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies, said recruitment for the positions was already under way.

The plant is expected to be completed by 2015.

The investment is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through IDA Ireland.

Ethicon Biosurgery Chief Executive Dan Wildman said Limerick was chosen because of the “unique clustering” of device manufacturing and biotech skills there.

He said the advanced technology required to expand its biomedical plant was already present in the broader Johnson & Johnson facilities in Limerick.

Mr Wildman said the company hoped to continue growing and that “Limerick will be one of the first places we look to” for additional manufacturing capacity.

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton said: “Manufacturing is a central pillar of the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs, and we have put in place a series of measures to help reverse the decline in employment in this area in the past.”