The European Commission yesterday approved £10.5 million sterling in UK state aid for research in a Seagate factory in Derry. The aid represents 30 per cent of an investment by the company in research and product development on the site, which is also a production facility making read-write heads for computers. The Commission said it expected the investment to result in a significant increase in R&D staff at the site.

The aim of the project is to advance knowledge in key technologies critical for the performance of read-write magnetic heads. It covers hard disk drive heads, tape device heads and sensors based on similar technology.