Job losses - Alarming rate of redundancies

REDUNDANCIES are snowballing at an alarming pace as Ireland lost 470 more jobs yesterday in Waterford, Limerick, Kildare, Meath and Dublin.

This brings to 1,500 the number of job losses in under a fortnight.

Compounding this dark scenario, stock markets fell sharply around the world, wiping out recent gains amid fears of a downturn in the American economy.

In a worrying trend, the impact of globalisation is increasingly taking its toll as multi-nationals leave Ireland for sweat-shop economies, putting the Government under pressure to protect high-skilled jobs.

But the biggest danger is that the construction sector, where developers have become millionaires overnight on the backs of hard-pressed home buyers, is showing signs of slowing down. If it grinds to a halt, it would be disastrous for the economy.