Botox boom saves Irish town amid the massive downturn and recession

Westport in County Mayo is thriving as other towns face economic ruin

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Manufacturing botox saved Westport town, Mayo, from the sharp bite of the recession

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"We expect that in the next four to five years it will probably switch to 60% of the revenue coming from therapeutic treatments rather than cosmetic," said O'Donnell. "Botox was being used to treat wrinkles and lines in the forehead, and some people doing that reported a reduction in migraine pain. I met a woman at a medical conference who told me she went from suffering around 28 days a month with severe migraine to just a few once she started using Botox."

Barry O'Leary, chief executive of Ireland's Industrial Development Authority said that Allergan's investment proves that Ireland is still an attractive location for multinational industries.

"Nine of the top 10 global pharma and biopharma companies have a significant presence in Ireland. The sector benefits from a highly skilled workforce, an exceptionally strong track record in development, manufacturing and compliance, a competitive tax rate and easy access to global markets."

Allergan's presence in Westport appears to have saved the town from the worst ravages of the economic downturn, reports the Guardian. The workforce has stayed loyal to the town and the company and the average worker spends 11 years at the factory.

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Says O'Donnell: "That demonstrates serious loyalty and a lot of what we do is commercially sensitive with very specialised, technical knowledge. So because we can keep that within the organisation by virtue of the fact that we have a low employee turnover, it makes Westport even more attractive."

He adds that Ireland's low 12.5% corporation tax rate is still a large factor in attracting foreign businesses to the country.

"It's hugely important for a couple of reasons," says O'Donnell. "One, of course, is the low rate – and the message that it is staying low is vital. It should not even move, because once it starts to move that would send a negative psychological signal to corporations. The corporation tax is the bedrock, but it is also important that Ireland has a very transparent tax system, which works to our advantage. As well as manufacturing, Allergan runs a lot of its financial services in Ireland because of our tax system."

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