Google is understood to be planning to create 400 new jobs in Dublin, cementing its position as one of the city’s biggest employers.

Google is reportedly in talks to rent the Irish Life Investment Managers-owned Velasco building, a 51,000 sq ft building on Grand Canal in Dublin.

Although an agreement has not been signed, Google has been identified as the clear favourite to take the property.

The move will see Google add 400 new jobs in Dublin where it already employs more than 6,000 people.

The Velasco building is still under construction.

Dublin is the data capital of Europe, says Google

Alphabet subsidiary Google employs 3,000 direct employees and 3,000 full-time contractors in Dublin and has offices on both sides of Barrow Street, including Dublin’s tallest building, the Montevetro building, and offices in EastPoint.

The company has also built two data centres in Clondalkin, west Dublin.

Last year, Google’s Ronan Harris described Dublin as the “data capital of Europe”.

In recent months, Fionnuala Meehan was named Google’s new country manager, as Harris took up the role of head of UK and Ireland.

Neighbouring Silicon Docks companies such as Facebook and Twitter employ around 1,500 and 500 people respectively, and the city is home to the international headquarters of numerous, fast-growing born-on-the-internet companies including Dropbox, Slack and HubSpot.