There has been another sharp drop in the number of people out of work with official figures showing a further 1,400 fall in unemployment to 232,800 last month, the lowest level in eight years.

The latest decline follows a seasonally-adjusted fall of 3,700 in March, bringing the total number of people signing on the Live Register to levels last seen in 1990.

The number of people out of work has fallen substantially over the past 12 months and is now 24,200 lower than April 1997.

Commenting on the continuing downward trend in unemployment last month, the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, said the figures provided "clear evidence" that the Government's economic policies were working. Under its National Employment Plan, the Government aims to reduce the rate of unemployment from current levels of around 9.5 per cent to 7 per cent. Ms Harney said yesterday that, in the medium term - from 2002 onwards - she believed the rate of unemployment could be reduced to a level of 5 per cent.

She strongly rejected recent criticism from the Opposition parties of the Government plan, stating that, in its absence, the number of people out of work in the Irish economy would only fall to around 8.6 per cent.

"What the former Rainbow partners cannot ignore is their own target in the National AntiPoverty Strategy published by Deputy de Rossa when he was Minister for Social Welfare. In that document their target was for unemployment to fall to six per cent by 2007," she said yesterday.

Mr de Rossa, said yesterday that even a rate of 7 per cent was "unacceptable", as it would still mean that there were more than 175,000 in the Irish economy without a job. "A much more proactive approach is required from the Government." Labour spokesman on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mr Tommy Broughan, said that the Government had decided to take resources from programmes to tackle long-term unemployment and divert them into measures to prevent young people from moving into unemployment.