SCOTT LI
PHOTOGRAPHY
D15 PHARMA
This is a documentary project originally installed from the 28th of April - May 9th of 2022 in the corridor of IADT. This project explores the area of D15, specifically Tyrrelstown and the rise of the pharamaceutical companies setting up in the area. This project is a surveilence project and not a comment on whether these companies being here is either good or bad.
Tyrrelstown, a Dublin residential town bordering Meath which began development in the early 2000s currently with a population of approximately 6000 began in the early years surrounded by nothing but fields but now the surrounding area has been industrialised, with the closest factory is almost 600 meters from the closest residential area of Tyrrelstown. This project explores why all the major international pharmaceutical companies chose to set up in this region bordering Meath and Dublin.
Dublin 15 in the early 2000s was pretty much just empty fields, in particular the area sitting on the border with Meath. Since 2000, many pharmaceutical companies have set up operations and production plants in the area with some companies already setting up there prior to the sudden 'boom' of these installations - the oldest in the area being Astellas (originally as Yamanouchi, Japan based) in 1986 as a manufacturing plant for Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients for medicinal products, with production operations commencing in July of 1988.
Helsinn (Swiss based) in 1997 completed their facility in the area.
Bristol-Myers Squibb’s (US based) was completed in 2002, Clarochem (Irish based, formerly Helsinn Chemicals Ireland Ltd) in 2009 after its acquisition of its facilty in the area. West Pharmaceuticals established its Dublin facility in the area in 2005. Mallinckrodt built its facility in 1993 but expanded its new facility in 2008.
![Tyrellstown Through The Years](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/770cb4_0e2c300ce14b45cebf20eedb85ba8af1~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_539,h_755,al_c,q_90,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/Tyrellstown%20Through%20The%20Years.png)
There are a few big reasons why these international companies set up in this particular area and the main one being that of the country’s very low corporate tax. There are two rates of Corporation Tax (CT) within the Republic of Ireland:
12.5% for trading income, 25% for income from an excepted trade (as defined in part 2 of the Taxes Consolidation Act). However a report done by Professor Jim Stewart of Trinity College who based his report on figures from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, found that US multinationals in Ireland paid an effective tax of 2.2 per cent.
The other main reason for the choice of the area geographically is because of the space and location as it sits still in Dublin in relatively at the time undeveloped land and it close to the M7 it leaves these installations connected to the industry and logistics routes to the ports for export of goods and import of materials for said goods.
With Tyrrelstown currently housing over 6000 people it is a good place for companies to house or source workers.