Ireland continues to grow into one of the major technology hubs of Europe after Google has announced plans to build a new €150million data centre in Dublin.
The 31 acre site will sit directly adjacent to Google’s existing data centre in Profile Park, which was opened in 2012.
The news has been welcomed by the local council with the new centre expected to employ up to 400 permanent staff plus many more temporary workers during construction.
Ronan Harris, head of operations at Google Ireland, told the Irish Times newspaper: “We are still very excited about our presence in Ireland and what Ireland has to offer.
“We have made a lot of capital investments here since 2010, including a data centre that went online in 2012. This is yet another investment on our part.”
Google aren’t the only tech giants choosing to set up their European operations in Ireland. Facebook, Apple and Microsoft all have their own data centres in the country.
The government’s lenient corporate tax laws have made Ireland an attractive site in Europe for international companies. They were introduced with the intention of attracting foreign investment into the Irish economy.
The plan seems to have been successful with other American tech companies such as LinkedIn and Adobe also choosing Ireland to be their European location.
The result is that Ireland now boasts some of the most talented engineers, programmers and technicians in the world from.
The numerous tech centres have created better prospects and opportunities for Irish workers, with many skilled now able to return having left during the recession.