TAOISEACH ENDA KENNY did what few politicians anywhere in the world have done today: set foot in an Apple factory.

The Taoiseach was in Apple’s plant at Hollyhill in Cork, visiting employees who work in Apple’s distribution, back-office and supply chain operations.

2,800 people already work at the Hollyhill facility; the company announced last week that it would add another 500 roles in support its business across Europe.

The Hollyhill plant was Apple’s first outside of the United States and is the assembly point for the MacBook Pro laptop. It was previously responsible for Apple’s iconic original iMac machine.

Results announced this week showed that Apple now sold 35 million iPhones in the first quarter of 2012, and now has a cash balance of $110 billion – around €83 billion, roughly equivalent to the total amount of Ireland’s bailout programme.

You can apply for 57 various roles in Apple through TheJournal.ie’s Jobs section, which has details of almost 2,000 vacancies around the country.