THE number of people made redundant in May almost trebled compared with the same month in 2008.

A REPORT predicting almost 9,500 jobs could be lost in the mid-west region as a result of the closure of Dell’s manufacturing facility in Limerick was based on a “worse-case scenario”, according to the Government.

MORE than 13,000 redundancies, or 300 per working day, have been reported to the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment since the start of the year, new figures show.

MINISTER of State Peter Power was at the centre of an embarrassing political row last night over his announcement of the makeup of an employment task force in Limerick.

HOSPITAL chiefs have begun contacting employees in the last week notifying them of the potential misuse of over 1,000 personal bank details contained on a laptop stolen three years ago.

TRAINING in the sport horse sector is to be boosted by an injection of €500,000.

A SIGNIFICANT oversight in laws established to prosecute the operators of the notorious pyramid schemes has made it impossible to secure convictions, the Labour party claimed yesterday.

THE Show Jumping Association of Ireland’s (SJAI) Premier Series will go ahead again next year, though a new sponsor is in the pipeline.

THE Government is to start naming and shaming employers who breach employment law in legislation in lists similar to the Revenue’s tax defaulters.

EMPLOYERS from across the mid-west will gather for a bigr business meeting in Shannon tomorrow amid concerns that the loss of Aer Lingus’s Heathrow link will cripple the regional economy.

GOVERNMENT plans to develop a knowledge-driven economy were given a massive boost yesterday with the announcement of 170 high-end research jobs at the country’s largest information and communications technology (ICT) research centre.

JOB losses have hit Youghal harder than most towns in Ireland and locally the fallout is the single biggest election issue.

Unions representing the 350 workers laid off at the NEC Semiconductors plant in Co Meath tonight said all hopes of saving the jobs were gone.

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern will focus heavily on employment standards when he outline’s the Government’s priorities for a new social partnership deal, at the start of formal talks this afternoon.

Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin has launched a new online redundancy payments system for his department.

THE new get-tough National Consumer Agency may not be up and running for another 12 months, the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment confirmed yesterday.

COMPLAINTS to the Labour Court about construction firms failing to register workers for a mandatory pension and sickness scheme rose 75% last year after the Irish Examiner exposed the issue.

THE Chambers of Commerce of Ireland (CCI) has called for the abolition of the Groceries Order, claiming the ban on below-cost selling is detrimental to the economy.

MULTINATIONAL construction firm Gama yesterday caved in to Government and union pressure and promised to resume supplies of food to protesting employees.

The Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment has said it is investigating concerns expressed about workers in the construction industry.

TÁNAISTE Mary Harney yesterday denied she had ordered the closure of three investigations into companies involved in the Ansbacher scandal because she did not like what was being uncovered.

IRELAND exported over €26 billion in military-related products to dozens of countries since 1997, the latest figures reveal.

THE country’s largest single pension scheme is to be reviewed by the Pensions Board following concerns that thousands of construction firms are flouting the law, depriving workers of death and sickness benefits.

IMMIGRANT groups yesterday called on Tánaiste Mary Harney to explain exactly how she intends to live up to a promise to give new work permits to exploited workers when no such Government decision has been made.

IRISH universities are becoming increasingly involved in research sponsored by some of the world’s largest arms companies, a report to be published today reveals.

I’M sure there isn’t a word of truth in any of the following. But whatever does happen in 2004, I wish all of you a happy and peaceful new year.

THE FIRST stage of a Government review into Ireland’s military exports has acknowledged for the first time there are gaps in the control system.

IMMIGRANTS from the 10 EU accession countries will now be given priority when applications for work permits are being considered, Tánaiste Mary Harney announced yesterday.

THE Government has been accused of being over reliant on foreign companies yesterday as the numbers out of work hit a three-year high in April.

THE number of people claiming unemployment benefits increased last month and staff lay-offs have also risen by close to a third this year.

EMPLOYMENT agency FÁS has called for a radical overhaul of the work permit system in order to better fill skills shortages with qualified immigrants.

The Irish Insurance Federation has announced the establishment of an Insurance Industry Action Group which will implement some of the recommendations of the Motor Insurance Advisory Board.