Waterford has been given a major employment boost as Nypro Healthcare prepares to establish operations there, creating 200 jobs.

The company will set up a medical device manufacturing facility in Waterford which will make respiratory and injectable devices for global healthcare and pharmaceutical customers.

Among the new positions to be created are healthcare automation engineers and technicians, healthcare quality engineers and technicians, operations managers, program managers, team leaders and operators.

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton, welcomed the announcement. "The South East has suffered disproportionately from unemployment over the years and the creation of over 200 high-end jobs is an enormous boost for the region," he said.

In December, Nypro announced it would create 100 jobs at its medical devices centre in Bray, Co Wicklow.

“Our latest growth phase is built upon the skills, work ethic, creativity and drive of our Nypro Ireland team,” James O’ Gorman, vice resident of Nypro’s drug delivery and diagnostics unit.