Seventy-eight new jobs have been created at a crisp factory and amusement park in Co Meath.
Ray Coyle, founder of Largo Foods and Tayto Park, said he is expanding both sites on the outskirts of Ashbourne taking his workforce to 798.
The firm, which makes the Tayto brand as well as Hunky Dorys, King and Perri, opened a 55-acre Tayto themed attraction in 2010.
Mr Coyle said: “Little did I envisage four years ago when we started building Tayto Park that in two short years we would have welcomed 750,000 people to Tayto Park and all because people showed some interest in the bison we kept in the same field.
“We have spent €15m to date in developing Tayto Park and will spend another 2.1m euro this year.
“We see this as an investment, not only in this great Irish family attraction, but also in the people who work here.”
Taoiseach Enda Kenny welcomed the jobs boost as he toured the site.
“Ireland’s food industry is a vital part of our domestic economy and is central to our export-orientated recovery,” he added.
Meanwhile, 10 new jobs are being created in Dublin at a company offering family-centred keep-fit programmes.
PlayFit is expanding its classes, which cater for three- to eight-year-olds, and are looking for exercise physiologists.
The company is hoping to create more positions across the country.
