Taoiseach Enda Kenny officially opened the Foundry, a €5.5 million investment by Google at its European headquarters in Dublin.

The project is described by Google, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary in Dublin, as a "digital innovation centre". Online advertisers from across Europe and Africa will be brought to Dublin by Google to take part in training events and digital research, using consumer behaviour data compiled by Google.

The Foundry has 80 events already booked in for this year, and Google says it hopes the centre will attract up to 15,000 new business visitors from overseas to Dublin annually, a boon for the city’s hotels and restaurants.

The centre's first events take place tomorrow, when Ikea, the Swedish flat pack furniture retailer, and Swatch, the Swiss watch company, host separate research gatherings for their executives from overseas. Paddy Power, Aer Lingus and Boots are also pencilled in to host events at the Foundry.