Firms' expansion yields 400 jobs

HUNDREDS of jobs are in the pipeline for Longford, Sligo and Kildare, but 25 people are to lose their jobs in Clare.

The new Abbott Diagnostics facilities in Longford and Sligo were opened yesterday at a ceremony attended by Tánaiste Mary Harney.

The development is part of Abbott's €230 million expansion plan in Europe, which has already created 505 jobs in the north west, with more than 300 additional jobs planned before 2008.