Lilly’s job numbers in Limerick could go beyond initial projection

THE MAN who will lead Lilly’s operation in Limerick has indicated the firm could employ more than the 300 to 400 workers it had initially projected.

Lilly is to open a new biopharmaceutical facility at the Raheen business park as part of an investment of at least €400m.

Up to 1,000 staff will be employed to construct the state-of-the-art premises – and Dave Riordan says if Lilly reaches its targets in Limerick, the number of permanent workers will increase from the projected target of up to 400.

He said the firm hopes to commence operations in Limerick by 2025 before receiving regulatory approval in 2026.

“To have regulatory approval, you need to be operational. We’ll be running and making medicines through 2025 in anticipation of receiving approval in 2026. From that point onwards, we’d expect to even ramp up our production business further and add additional jobs,” he said.

Mr Riordan said Lilly will need between 300 and 400 people just to be operational in Limerick, with workers such as engineers, scientists, and operations personnel, who will produce some of the most up-to-date biologics manufacturing technology.

But beyond that, there could be far more.

“It’s difficult to anticipate, but we have a large site, so there is ample room for future expansion if we wanted to do it. Kinsale [Lilly’s original Irish factory] started as a small plant with just 200 employees in 1979, and has now in excess of 1,200. It depends on how successful the site is and how successful the company is at producing products for sale. If we do our jobs well, the site could continue to grow,” the Limerick boss added.

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While Limerick City and County Council has given Lilly permission to build its new factory in Raheen, an appeal from local farmer and former senior hurling manager Tom Ryan over issues related to pollution at the Loughmore Canal will see An Bord Pleanala decide on the plan.

The national appeals body will rule by next March.

Mr Riordan said the issues around the Loughmore Canal pre-date Lilly’s involvement on site, and points out that it has designed the centre so as to ensure any stormwater generated within its boundary stays there and does not impact the waterway.

“All the water which falls on the Raheen site will be contained in the Raheen site,” he pointed out.

He added that management at Lilly have also been working with the Irish Wildlife Trust’s Limerick branch after discovering a protected species of meadowgrass around the original construction site.

“We changed our design and moved our facility to avoid impacting on the presence of that rare grass species. We have had advise from excellent professional ecologists on how we can nurture this species,” he told the Limerick Leader.

Lilly has been operating in Ireland for more than 40 years and currently employs around 2,500 staff at its manufacturing site in Kinsale, Co Cork and business services centre at Little Island in the same county.

Mr Riordan was speaking to the Limerick Leader at a special community event Lilly hosted in the South Court Hotel, on the doorstep of the Raheen Industrial Estate where it will build its Limerick operation.