AROUND 150 NEW jobs have been announced at a new pharmaceutical factory in Waterford.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton attended the jobs announcement this morning at West Pharmaceutical, a company which works on ways to administer injectable drugs.

The factory will produce packaging components for insulin injector cartridges.

Another 100 construction jobs are likely to be created during construction of the plant, which is set to begin early next year.

The jobs are good news for the county which has been badly hit with a higher-than-average unemployment rate.

Enda Kenny said the jobs were a “massive boost for Waterford and the entire south east”.

Donald Morel Junior, the CEO of the company, said that Waterford was an “ideal setting” for the plant because of its “business-friendly environment and the growing health science industry in the area.”

West Pharmaceutical already employs more than 230 people at a subsidiary in Mulhuddart in Dublin.

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