Roche Ireland Limited (Clarecastle) is a subsidiary of the Roche Group, based in Basel, Switzerland.
 
Roche’s Clarecastle facility was established in 1974 as Syntex Ireland on 36 hectares of land overlooking the Fergus River in Clarecastle, Co. Clare, and became Roche’s pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Ireland when the Roche Group acquired the site in 1994.

Following a decision in 2015 to exit the Clarecastle facility, final production was undertaken in November 2019 and pharmaceutical operations ceased in March 2020.

A planning application to decommission the site was submitted to Clare County Council in June 2020 and a formal final grant of planning permission to commence work on the phased demolition of all existing buildings, structures and infrastructure, on, in and under the site of the existing Roche pharmaceutical plant at Clarehill, Clarecastle, Co Clare was issued by Clare County Council on 3 February 2021. This work is now underway and will continue in phases through to mid 2029, when the groundwater validation monitoring phase is complete and the site's EPA licence is officially surrendered.

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Roche’s objectives for the site are two-fold:
To deliver a site suitable for the creation of sustainable jobs into the future
To leave a positive legacy in the local community, Clare, and Ireland

These objectives are driven by Roche's Global Remediation Policy and the principles of its Corporate Social Responsibility, which exceed current Irish legal requirements and the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) requirements.

Roche believes that existing landfills containing hazardous wastes with the potential to impact the environment should be addressed proactively, even if this entails applying solutions exceeding the individual country’s legal framework... protecting the environment is an integral part of Roche's business, far exceeding any legal or social obligation.

    In undertaking this decommissioning project, Roche will be guided by its policies and practices, namely:

  • That the protection of residents and the environment is of the highest priority to Roche;       
  • That workplace safety is key to protect workers, residents and the environment; and      
  • That Roche strives for proactive and open stakeholder information sharing and engagement with the public.