Diageo said it will unveil plans in the coming months for the site of its St James's Gate brewery in Dublin.
The world's biggest alcoholic drinks group said in June it had begun a review of the 64-acre site.
The announcement followed reports that the London-based company might move production to a location north of Dublin.
"The history, the provenance, is central to the review," Michael Ioakimides, head of Diageo's Irish unit, said today. "What we are absolutely taking into account is the passion that the consumer has for the brand and St. James Gate," he said in an interview on RTÉ.
Diageo posted a 15 per cent rise in first-half earnings today as it maintained its full-year target for underlying operating profits to rise by 9 per cent.
The brewer said earnings per share in the six months to end-December rose to 37.6 pence per share, meeting forecasts. The interim dividend was raised 5.2 per cent to 13.2 pence.
"Johnnie Walker has again delivered double-digit net sales growth as have Smirnoff and Captain Morgan, chief executive Paul Walsh said. "The performance of Guinness has also improved with net sales up 6 per cent and share gains in Great Britain and Ireland," he added.