News of the Guidant expansion was warmly welcomed by civic and business leaders in Clonmel yesterday.
They hailed the 1,000-job investment by the US medical devices manufacturer as a significant boost, not just for the south Tipperary town but for neighbouring region as well.
The chairman of South Tipperary County Council, former minister of state Dr Seán McCarthy, said the announcement was particular welcome as the medical-devices sector offered high-quality jobs; and while Clonmel had suffered in the past with the closure of Digital and Seagate, he was optimistic about the future of the Guidant plant.
"I can say that certain companies are almost recession proof - the pharmaceutical industry is one, while medical devices is an expanding sector, so I would be confident for the future of Guidant here in Clonmel."
The president of Clonmel Chamber of Commerce, Mr Walter Heneghan, said the Guidant expansion would be a significant boost to business in the town, with a range of suppliers, from people providing clothing to people providing security, likely to benefit.
"A large proportion of the jobs will be high skilled and high paid, so it should increase spending for the traders as well as commercial activity generally, while also adding to the social fabric," Mr Heneghan added.
South Tipperary Independent TD Mr Séamus Healy, of the Workers' and Unemployed Action Group, said Guidant had a reputation as a good employer in terms of pay and conditions. "Its a huge boost to the area and something we've been looking forward to in south Tipperary for some time. We had high levels of unemployment in the county and we're continuing to have high levels of unemployment in Carrick-on-Suir and Tipperary town. We must now focus on getting jobs into Carrick, where there are 1,000 people unemployed in a town four times smaller than Clonmel."
Tipperary South TDs Mr Tom Hayes of Fine Gael and Mr Noel Davern of Fianna Fáil said the jobs' announcement was a particularly timely boost. Mr Davern paid tribute to the local Guidant team for winning the investment against strong competition from another Guidant plant in Puerto Rico.
Newly elected mayor of Clonmel, Cllr Dinnie Dunne (FG), said he was hopeful now that when other companies saw the success of Guidant - which came to Clonmel just six years ago - they too would be attracted.