385 jobs to go in Ballinasloe

Nearly 400 jobs are to be lost in Co Galway with the closure of an electrical manufacturing plant in Ballinasloe.

Workers at the Square D circuit-breaker factory in the town were told of the move today. A total of 385 employees will go.

The firm has been in Ballinasloe for 30 years and its departure amounts to a major blow for the unemployment position in the area, which has been hit by a series of closures.

The plant depended on the north American market, and demand for their products is understood to have fallen seriously over the past year.

Responding to the development, Tánaiste Mary Harney said she was shocked at the news.

Ms Harney, who is also Enterprise, Trade and Employment Minister, pledged to use every facility at her disposal to encourage alternative investment in Ballinasloe.

She added “The closure cannot be described as anything other than a bodyblow for the workforce, their families and the local community.

“My thoughts are first and foremost with them on an awful day like this.

"I have to acknowledge that Ballinasloe had fared badly in recent years and the fact that considerable new investments have located elsewhere in the region will be cold comfort today for the employees of Square D, who are now to lose their jobs.

“I am not going to pretend that finding new investment and providing new sources of employment in Ballinasloe will be easy, but I pledge to do everything I can to ensure to see that it happens.”