The Tanaiste, Ms Harney, has said job offers could be made to 300 employees of the General Semiconductor plant in Macroom, Co Cork, which is to close next Christmas with the loss of 670 jobs.
Speaking at the plant yesterday, where she met workers, management and SIPTU officials, Ms Harney said she had been told by management that since the closure announcement last Friday, a number of companies in the Cork region had been in touch asking if employees would be interested in joining them.
According to General Semiconductor management, Ms Harney added, as many as 300 job offers could be made to the Macroom employees.
She said the IDA was in touch with several overseas companies interested in investing in Ireland and they would now be directed towards the Macroom facility which was "an excellent one".
She said the disposal of the plant, in which $30 million was invested four years ago, would be handled directly by local management and she had impressed upon them the need to offer the facility at the best possible price.
Management also agreed that no employee who was offered a job elsewhere would be discriminated against when the terms of the redundancy package had been worked out.
"I have asked that the terms should be as generous as possible, recognising the contribution of the workforce here over the past 20 years," she added.
The details of the task force to be established to find an alternative employer for Macroom will be announced today.
Ms Harney indicated it will include senior representatives of FAS and the IDA, a senior member of her Department as well as a worker representative and a senior SIPTU official.
She said that during her meeting with the workers the mood was understandably angry and she was unable to put her hand on her heart and say she was optimistic about replacing all the jobs.
However, the Government was hopeful that a new investor or investors would be identified as quickly as possible.
Mr Des Geraghty, general president of SIPTU, who met the Tanaiste yesterday, said he was angry at the manner in which the factory closure had been announced.
While the IDA had been given a few days' notice, SIPTU learned of the closure only on Friday afternoon and was given no opportunity to meet the company or discuss the position with them.
SIPTU was presented with a fait accompli and told that production was being switched to Taiwan, he said.
The closure was a warning to the Irish economy that should be heeded because the signs were that trouble was brewing in other manufacturing sectors in the Republic, Mr Geraghty said.