JobsFair.ie

SOME 160 new construction jobs are to be created this year with the development of a new €20m major human vaccine facility in Carlow.

The company's announcement was hailed yesterday as a "positive long-term commitment" by business leaders.

It brings the total employment figure at the company's facility to 460 people during construction. A further 170 people will be hired once the facility is up and running in 2011.

The plant will specialise in making and filling vaccines which help to prevent and treat a number of health conditions.

Dr Michael Thien, vice-president with Merck Manufacturing Division, said the move was a further indication of the company's "long-term commitment to Ireland and Carlow".

Construction of the biologics facility has been making progress in the past six months.

President of County Carlow Chamber of Commerce David Walsh said the jobs were "very welcome given the decline in development elsewhere".

He said that the opportunities were significant for tradesmen across the region and the company offered long-term employment prospects for graduates from Carlow Institute of Technology.

Merck Sharp & Dohme has a number of existing operations in Ireland, with a plant in Clonmel employing 360 people and a corporate base in Leopardstown, Co Dublin, employing more than 100 workers.

Eimear Ni Bhraonain