Up to 60,000 jobs in Irish-owned firms are at risk, the small firms lobby group, ISME, has claimed. The organisation says despite the booming economy many manufacturing sectors are performing well below par.

ISME, which has carried out a detailed study of Irish industry, based on the last Census of Industrial Production for 1994, published earlier this year, says the booming economy is masking a serious underlying problem.

Many Irish companies in sectors such as clothing, food and leather are struggling, suffering from under-investment and little or no profitability. Mr Brian Flanagan, of Invest-Tech Ltd, who compiled the study, says it "exposes the myth" that all sectors of the business community are contributing equally to job creation.

He said 5,400 jobs were created in the manufacturing sector in 1994. However, of these, 5,000 were created by foreign-owned firms.