Six months after the closure of Wexford Weaving with the loss of 150 jobs, staff and the local community in general remain bitter about the experience.

Wexford, locals believe, is the county the Celtic Tiger never came to visit. But the chill wind it left behind has hit the area with a vengeance. The failure of State agencies to attract sizeable enterprises to the county during the boom has meant there are simply no jobs around for those made redundant.

Workers at Wexford Weaving, who had been promised a bright future when the plant was taken over by new owners last year, faced the additional problem that their specific skills were not easily transferable to other enterprises.

Despite this, about 50 per cent of the staff are currently in alternative employment, estimates a senior SIPTU shop steward at the plant, Mr Henry Goldsmith. Most, however, are employed on short-term contracts or on a casual basis in jobs paying less than their former employment.

While F┴S and the Wexford Area Partnership (WAP) company stepped in with training programmes to equip workers with alternative skills, workers believe the Government could have done a lot more.

Its failure to respond to a specific request by SIPTU, which represented most of the staff, has caused anger.

Mr Michael Wall, the union's Wexford branch secretary, said it sought a fund of £100,000 (€127,000) to assist workers willing to start their own small businesses or go into self-employment. Assistance is currently available to those who are long-term unemployed and who decide to take this step. To qualify, however, the Wexford workers would have to remain on the live register for 12 months. The fund sought by SIPTU was an attempt to bridge this gap, said Mr Wall.

He and his colleagues put the proposal directly to the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, in Wexford shortly after the factory's closure. Mr Ahern gave the name of an official in his office to contact but subsequent discussions with that person and the Department of Enterprise and Employment led nowhere.

"The workers were left absolutely deserted," said Mr Wall.

Mr Goldsmith spent 25 years at Wexford Weaving. He attended a start-your-own business course with Wexford Area Partnership, which he found to be excellent, and hopes to start an enterprise "in the woodwork line".

He was paid statutory redundancy after the company closed with debts of £3 million. The average redundancy pay-out was £6,000 and staff are still waiting for the State to pay them their minimum notice entitlement.

Mr Goldsmith came across an electrical saw costing £3,000 that was suitable for the business he had in mind. He went to his bank seeking a personal loan but was refused because, the bank told him, he was unemployed. He decided to go ahead anyyway.

"I discussed it with my wife and we decided to go ahead. If you perceive yourself as a victim you won't get anywhere. You have to be prepared to help yourself."

He remains unemployed and is currently working on a business plan. Mr Goldsmith is appreciative of the efforts made by F┴S and WAP to assist the Wexford Weaving staff.

One of the first things F┴S did was organise a three-day information course, advising workers on how to prepare CVs and utilise their skills elsewhere.

The problem, says Mr Wall, is that training is of limited benefit if there are no jobs at the end of it.

At the time of the plant's closure, he said, the Tβnaiste, Ms Harney, had said no effort would be spared to help the workers find alternative employment.

"No-one's heard from her since, no more than we've heard from Bertie."