Speech by an Taoiseach, Mr. Enda Kenny, T.D., Official opening of Shire’s new offices, Baggot St.

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Good morning ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you for having me at this morning's official opening of your new corporate headquarters here in Miesian Plaza. It’s wonderful to see the great redevelopment work that has occurred here, at the site of the old Bank of Ireland headquarters.

I would like to begin by thanking Susan Kirby, Alan Walshe, Vincent Dunne and Nigel Coffey for being so welcoming.

I am delighted to mark this very important milestone for Shire in Ireland and for the official announcement of the creation of 150 jobs to make this new facility fully operational.

Today's announcement is very positive news, as indeed is news of the ongoing works on your state-of-the-art biologics facility in Piercetown, Co. Meath, which I understand is proceeding swiftly. Both investments demonstrate that Ireland remains an important part of Shire’s global footprint and future strategy, and for this we must thank you.

Shire is doing wonderful pioneering work in the field of biotechnology, specifically in developing treatments for rare diseases.

You are exactly the sort of thriving international company that we are delighted to host in Ireland. You create highly-skilled employment opportunities for people in this country and deliver first-class products, which truly make a difference.

The biopharma industry makes a huge contribution to the Irish economy in terms of jobs and exports, and is one of our fastest growing sectors.

Ireland's biologics subsector alone is predicted to double in the coming years. We’re very happy that Shire will form part of this growth story.

Ireland is winning significant investments in biopharma, with Capital projects amounting to over €4bn in the pipeline over the coming years. Your own manufacturing facility being constructed in Piercetown plays a big part in this.

This is thanks in no small way to the work of IDA Ireland who continue to seek out high growth FDI companies and embed them in Ireland.

Globally we are going through a period of uncertainty with the advent of Brexit and changes in the political landscape worldwide.

As a Government, we have firm plans in place to mitigate the impact of Brexit. The work that has been done to secure and underpin sustainable economic growth equips us well to deal with these impacts and we’re confident that we’ll meet and exceed the challenges and opportunities of the post-Brexit world.

Our offer as a country remains strong – a strong commitment to our EU membership, a competitive tax regime, policy stability, a business-friendly environment and a skilled workforce with high levels of education.

We are continually seeking out new markets for produce and services along with a renewed effort to attract high quality FDI.

Our pool of highly skilled people from which companies can draw, gives Ireland a great advantage. We in Government strive to ensure that our educational institutions are keeping up with industry trends; our National Skills Strategy and annual Action Plans for Education reinforce our commitment to meeting industries skills needs.

We have maintained a relentless focus on competitiveness, an area of significant relevance to all our investing companies.

Innovation 2020, Ireland’s five year strategy for research and development, science and technology, sets out our roadmap to deliver on the vision for Ireland to become a global innovation leader by focusing on excellence, talent and impact.

But there is no room for complacency. We have worked hard to make Ireland one of the best places in the world to do business, and we will continue to make the country as attractive as possible, across a range of business needs.

The fruits of our labour are visible in investment decisions such as the one you have made here for Dublin and Co. Meath.

Thank you once again for your ongoing confidence in Ireland, and in our highly educated and hard working people. I wish you well in your new offices and I look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship.

Thank you.

ENDS