Facebook is primed to extend its Dublin footprint north of the Liffey, as it adds office space to accommodate a further 1,000 jobs in the capital.

The Irish Independent has learned that the company is nearing a deal to lease a 110,000 sq ft (10,220 sq m) building in Dublin's north docks.

Mark Zuckerberg's social media behemoth already has a staff of 1,500 based in its European headquarters in Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2. 

Its potential new office space is owned by the Comer brothers of Galway and is situated between East Point Business Park and The Point Village. The likes of Cisco Systems, Google and Yahoo! would be near-neighbours as the docklands' position as the country's tech hub is further solidified.

A Facebook spokesman has confirmed that it is looking for additional office space but has yet to commit to a location.

The news comes a week after reports that Google has held informal talks with the owners of the Treasury Building  – the NTMA's home on the Grand Canal  – as it ponders a bid of as much of €125m for the property. This would be well above the building's estimated value of €100m.

The search giant's European HQ is already based on Barrow Street in Dublin 4, employing roughly 5,000 people. It is thought that the company is keen to add 400 people to its Irish workforce. The 51,000 sq ft block Velasco building block on Grand Canal was named as a potential new home in January.