Tanaiste says IT sector vital for future

The Tanaiste is moving to allay fears of the 50,000 people working in the IT sector.

The loss of 670 jobs in General Semiconductors in Co Cork today comes just a week after the 900 staff at Gateway in Dublin were let go.

The IDA is warning that there will be further job losses as the downturn in the US economy continues.

But despite this, Mary Harney is confident that other US multinationals here are not under threat.

“The electronics industry is going through a difficult patch, but it’s a very important industry for the future, and clearly one that is going to last and certainly in Ireland we have the who’s who of the industry,” she said.

“The main players are within Ireland and will remain within Ireland for as long as Ireland remains competitive. The best thing I could say is the Irish economy remains competitive for those companies.”