A new Tesco supermarket in Naas, Co Kildare, will create 266 new jobs.
The store, which was officially opened by Taoiseach Brian Cowen today, is part of the company's €113 million national investment plan. It says it will create 748 new jobs across the country this year.
Mr Cowen said the news represented a "vote of confidence" from the company in the Irish economy.
Tesco Ireland chief executive Tony Keohane said company had invested €30 million in the new Tesco Extra store.
It features a number of environmental initiatives such as a combined heat and power (CHP) unit which will heat and provide additional electrical power for the store, motion detection and solar-sensitive lighting systems, as well as rainwater recycling.
Tesco said the store’s carbon footprint will be 35 per cent less than a comparable conventional store.