Donegal suffered the latest in a series of employment setbacks yesterday when 560 workers at a US-owned pharmaceuticals plant were told they are to lose their jobs.
Minister for Enterprise Micheál Martin described the company's decision to close the Donegal town plant in 18 months as a "devastating blow" for the area and he promised a concerted effort to find replacement jobs.
Hospira blamed the decision on excess manufacturing capacity as well as the high cost of manufacturing in Ireland. Products made at the factory are to be manufactured instead in Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.
Siptu, which represents workers at the factory, described the closure announcement as a "bolt from the blue". The union's Donegal branch secretary, Seán Reilly, said there had been no expectation that management was planning such a move. "The workers are devastated by the news."
However, industry sources said it had been apparent for the past year that the plant was in trouble, since Hospira separated from its parent company, Abbott Laboratories. The company's plant in Sligo is not affected by the development.
Workers were told of the planned closure after being summoned to the plant's canteen for a meeting at 10am. In a statement to the media shortly afterwards, Hospira said it would consult with staff and unions about the closure and try to agree a redundancy package at the earliest possible date.
"We understand the impact this news will have on the region, but we hope that, by making this announcement with plenty of advance notice, it will give those affected time to consider alternative options," said plant manager Dermot Murphy.
The company also promised to provide training for staff to help them secure alternative jobs.
A problem facing those losing their jobs, however, is that Donegal already has a high unemployment rate and has not yet recovered from a series of factory closures in the textiles sector.
Mr Reilly said that nearly 3,000 workers had lost their jobs in the north-west in the past few years, and the latest closure would make Donegal an "unemployment blackspot".
Other local commentators said the closure of a pharmaceuticals plant had come as a particular shock, as the jobs in this sector had been considered more "modern" and therefore more secure than those in textiles.
Mr Martin acknowledged that Donegal required particular attention for job creation."The full resources of the State's development agencies including the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and Fás are being mobilised in this regard." He said he had visited Donegal on a number of occasions since becoming Minister and would do so again. There was strong reaction to the closure from Opposition TDs.
Fine Gael enterprise spokesman Phil Hogan claimed the closure was a direct result of the Government's failure to control costs for manufacturers. "Many of these costs are imposed directly by the Government in the form of stealth taxes; others arise in areas where the Government has a direct influence. It's time to adopt business-friendly policies." Labour's enterprise spokesman Brendan Howlin said the closure was a "catastrophic blow" for Donegal and he called on the Government to urgently develop a new strategy to "save the Irish manufacturing industry".
Dan Boyle, the Green Party's finance spokesman, claimed the Government's response to the closure had been "fatuous" and there was a "seeming indifference" to protecting or enhancing manufacturing jobs.
