Ballymaguire Foods will create 100 jobs at a new 70,000 sq ft plant in Lusk, north Dublin.

The company is the largest producer of chilled ready meals for retailers in Ireland.

This move will treble production with an aim to expanding the company's presence in the British market. 

It already employs 150 people in Lusk - and estimates that the new jobs will be worth over €4 million per year to the local economy.

A further 100 jobs will also be created during the construction of the plant.

Ballymaguire Foods managing director, Ed Spelman commented on the move which will allow the company to produce over 500,000 meals per week:

“This will mainly be used to fuel the opportunities we see in the UK and add to our existing business there. We managed to buck the trend during the recession, as we used it to find new opportunities and successfully grow. We are now backing ourselves with this new investment which will help us continue to improve and innovate new food products.”