Sir, - Having been involved in the manufacture of clothing most of my working life, it is with regret I read of more manufacturers in that industry, "going to the wall". Clothing manufacturing is a very labour intensive industry and very important to our country, so why cannot we compete with foreign imports?
In your paper (August 19th) you state: "A spokesman for the Department of Enterprise and Employment said that there was now a severe cost problem in the clothing industry in the Republic". You also state in the same paragraph that the closure of Gaeltex was due to "cheap imports".
Labour is a very small part in the cost of the manufacture of any garment. Overheads and materials make up most of the cost. And, when one takes into consideration the cost of freight and also some duties which the manufacturer outside the EU has to pay, one cannot blame the so called "cheap imports" for the closure of plants.
Also in your paper today you write: "Anxiety looms as Fruit staff return from their holidays." I very much doubt that the directors of a plant which employed 3,500 people, would close it down to open a similar plant elsewhere. I have more than a good idea what it costs to train that many people, and more than that, how can one be sure of what may happen in some of these foreign countries?
Should the directors of the Fruit of the Loom have any idea of moving elsewhere, I would advise them to stay where they are. Irish workers, and I should know, are as good, if not better, as those anywhere in the World. - Yours, etc.,
Jack Toohey,
Costelloe, Co Galway.