Two Cabinet Ministers, Galway West TDs and the city's mayor have expressed "shock" and "regret" at the decision by Abbott Ireland to close its Galway plant.
Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin said it represented a "major blow" for 498 staff employed there, and said his first concern was "for these workers and their families".
The State's job creation agencies would be offering them "every assistance", and he welcomed Abbott Ireland's offer of replacement employment for some Galway-based staff in its other plants, and its commitment to "provide competitive redundancy terms as well as outplacement and financial advisory services".
Abbott still remained one of Ireland's major employers with over 3,000 people in Sligo, Longford, Clonmel, Donegal and Cavan, Mr Martin noted.
Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and Galway West TD Éamon Ó Cuív said he "noted with great regret" the decision, given that Abbott Ireland had been a "very good and important employer" in the city.
"We live in a global economy and the challenge now is to try to attract new industry to Galway, so that the industrial base there continues to grow," Mr Ó Cuív said.
Labour Party president and Galway West TD Michael D Higgins said that it was a "cruel blow" and called on Mr Martin to organise meetings with the IDA and representatives of the region to "discuss the urgent situation that has arisen, and the need to provide alternative employment for those who now face the devastation of having lost their jobs".
"The medical area is an area of excellence in the west of Ireland, and is powerfully assisted by the presence of third-level educational institutions such as the National University of Ireland Galway, and the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology. No effort must now be spared in using every contact to replace the jobs that have been lost," Mr Higgins said.
Mayor of Galway Tom Costello said that the closure of the company was "very bleak news for the city coming up to Christmas", and expressed concern about the fact that a number of staff were employed on contracts.
"No matter what way you look at it, people on short-term contracts are only entitled to the minimum," he said. "There's also a very high proportion of foreign nationals on the workforce." The mayor said he did not believe that the absence of any trade union representation in the Galway plant was a factor in the decision by Abbott's headquarters to close the base.
"This may have been the most recent of their bases in Ireland," he said. He was also critical of the manner in which staff heard about the closure.
"Up to now, we've been seeing big job losses elsewhere, and I just hope that this doesn't augur badly for Galway. We've seen recent losses in Boston Scientific, in research and development, but it is a very large employer and its figures go up and down."
