US investment bank Merrill Lynch is establishing a EUR30 million research, development and innovation (RDI) facility at its operations in Dublin.
The facility, which will be located at Merrill Lynch's offices in Leopardstown in Dublin, will focus on the development of technology and applications to support the bank's business worldwide.
Up to 40 research-based jobs will be created at the new centre, which is being supported by development agency IDA Ireland.
Some of the RDI staff will be seconded from the bank's offices around the world to work on projects under the direction of Tony O'Halloran, CTO at Merrill Lynch Ireland.
Commenting on the new centre, O'Halloran says: "A key component of the RDI Centre will be collaboration with both academia and industry on a number of different levels including participation, research, education and bespoke supply of systems and services. This aspect of the RDI operations will quickly deepen its knowledge-base and minimise the development time of the projects we undertake."
Speaking at the official launch of the centre, Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern said Merrill's EUR30 investment in the facility "represents the largest investment of this type by any firm in Ireland".