Apple is to invest €850 million developing a new data centre in Co Galwayto help run services such as iTunes and maps for users of its devices.
The new centre, to be built on a greenfield site near Athenry, will be the company’s largest data centre project in Europe, and provide 300 jobs during its multiple phases.
The announcement was made as part of a global investment by California-based tech giant, with a similar centre announced for Denmark.
The combined investment represents Apple’s biggest-ever project in Europe, with the facilities set to begin operations in 2017.
The company already employs over 3,000 people in Ireland, mainly at its European headquarters in Cork.
Apple joins rivals including Google and Facebook in building data centres in northern Europe, where the temperate climate helps save on equipment cooling costs.
The investment, which is backed by the IDA, was welcomed by Taoiseach Enda Kenny, who described the news as a “very significant investment in the West of Ireland”.
“As the Government works to secure recovery and see it spread to every part of the country, today’s announcement is another extremely positive step in the right direction,” he said.
IDA Ireland and Coillte are understood to have worked together to come up with a suitable site to secure Apple’s investment .
The data centre in Ireland will be will be located on land owned by Coillte at Derrydonnell while in Denmark, it will be in Viborg, western Denmark.
IDA chief executive Martin Shanahan, said: “This is an important strategic investment by Apple in a regional location, with significant local economic benefits.
“Ireland has for several years successfully attracted data centre investments from major corporates, but this latest investment enhances Ireland’s track record in this area further,” he said.