The east Galway town of Ballinasloe has received yet another employment setback with the loss of 40 jobs at the Dubarry shoe factory.
The Tánaiste and Minister for Employment, Ms Harney, described confirmation yesterday of the job losses as "devastating" for the town, and said that the Government was "determined" to "do everything possible" to attract new investment there.
The company, which has been based for almost 70 years in Ballinasloe, has blamed high labour costs for its decision to transfer its manufacturing operations to its Portuguese plant in November.
This will result in the loss of half the company's 80 jobs, with non-unionised clerical and administrative staff remaining at the plant.
However, the SIPTU shop steward and Sinn Féin Galway county councillor, Mr Dermot Connolly, says that the company has been profitable, and "simply wants to increase its profit margins".
The Tánaiste said she could not and would not "make false promises to the people of Ballinasloe". She said she could promise that the town "continues to be marketed by our development agencies for new investment as actively and as rigorously as any town in Ireland".
"In the past 18 months, the IDA have brought upwards of a dozen companies to visit the town and I know that discussions are continuing with a number of potential investors," Ms Harney said in a statement.
