There was fresh hope today that the long-running Vita Cortex dispute could finally be brought to an end.

Siptu last night called on Vita Cortex boss Jack Ronan to respond to reports that Nama has offered him a way of ending the 111-day sit-in by his former workers in Cork.

Frustrated ex-workers involved in a sit-in at the Vita Cortex plant have escalated their protest by blocking access to the factory site and preventing the removal of goods by sister company Vita Clean.

Workers protesting at the former Vita Cortex factory in Cork today said they had locked the gates of the site in what amounted to an escalation of the dispute.