The clean-up bill for Swiss pharma giant Roche’s former Co Clare manufacturing site now totals €207.56m in what the company describes as “one of the largest remediation projects of its type in Europe”.
Over 1 million hours have now been worked on the project to date since 2020.
New accounts show that Roche Ireland Ltd recorded pre-tax losses of €59.07m in 2025 as its decommissioning and remediation spend concerning its decision to exit manufacturing here continued to mount and now totals €207.56m over six years.
The €59.07m loss for 2025 includes a combined spend of €57.6m on environmental and demolition costs at its Clarecastle site which is the highest spend on environmental costs across the project that has been ongoing since 2020.
The €59.07m loss for 2025 follows losses of €54.96m for 2024, €42.93m in 2023 and €26.15m for 2022 and the losses chiefly relate to the environmental spend.
The Irish unit during last year received a €60m capital contribution from a connected Roche entity to fund the clean up programme and this followed combined capital contributions of €98m in 2024 and 2023.
The plant was once one of the most prestigious places of employment in the Midwest and the pharma giant announced its decision ten years ago in 2016 to shut down its Clarecastle plant with the loss of 240 jobs.
The site post-remediation plan, focused on licence surrender and marketing the site to attract new investors, has begun and Roche Ireland has recently appointed Cushman & Wakefield to bring the 88-acre site to market with a clear objective of identifying a best-in-class investor capable of delivering sustainable employment and long-term economic benefit to the region.
A spokeswoman for Roche Ireland said that the costs for 2025 relate to the company executing the remediation of the company’s Clarecastle site to return it to a brownfield status, capable of attracting new investment.
The accounts show that the firm’s €57.6m in operating costs for 2025 were made up of €51.87m in environmental; €3m in demolition and €2.5m in other external charges.
The firm also incurred finance costs of €1.46m in net finance costs.
A Roche Ireland spokeswoman said: “The company has allocated the investment to ensure that the project is delivered in an exemplary manner, adhering to strict environmental standards. The funding committed to the project by a company exiting manufacturing activities in Ireland is unique.”
“Site decommissioning of the 88-acre site commenced in 2020. The project is one of the largest remediation projects of its type in Europe, providing employment for, on average, 100 people,” the spokeswoman said.
“The remediation phase of the project is on track for completion in Q4 2027, on time and within budget. All project metrics are also on track – over 1 million hours have been worked on the overall project to date with no lost-time accidents, there has been full compliance with all environmental licence requirements, and there has been no adverse community feedback,” she said.
“When the site remediation is complete, the company will have met its objectives of delivering a brownfield site with the potential to deliver sustainable jobs under a new investor and leaving a positive legacy for the local community, Clare and Ireland,” she added.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
