Harney presses for decision on Fruit of the Loom jobs

The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms Harney has called on Fruit of the Loom to clarify immediately how many jobs will be lost at its Donegal textile plants.

Ms Harney said yesterday it was unfair to keep employees waiting and they deserved to know their fate. An announcement was due to be made on Monday but has been postponed. Ms Harney will attend the first meeting of a special task force in Donegal this evening. Comprising business, local authority and union representatives, it will concentrate on winning new projects to replace Fruit of the Loom jobs. It is expected that up to 700 of the 2,150 jobs will be lost.

Speaking after the official opening of ATI Technologies (Europe) in Dublin yesterday, Ms Harney said she had met Fruit of the Loom chairman and chief operations officer, Mr Bill Farley, six times and her primary concerns were to save as many jobs as possible and protect taxpayers' money. She also stressed that she wanted fair redundancy packages for those who lost their jobs.

Ms Harney said she was satisfied, having taken legal advice, that the company owed IDA Ireland grant repayments in excess of £6 million. This figure could rise to more than £10 million if the 700 jobs go. She said Fruit of the Loom executives were arguing they owed less.

The Tanaiste said she hoped the issue would not be fought out through the courts. This would not be fair to workers, she said. She paid tribute to the company's employment record, saying it had been a good employer, adding: "It is a pity it has come to this".

Ms Harney said she was establishing the task force although it was not yet clear how many jobs would be lost. She was confident that some new projects could be located in Donegal within a few months, if the task force was focused properly.

Ms Harney said the peace process could also play its part. In the past, investors had been reluctant to locate in Donegal, because Northern Ireland was its natural hinterland. However, she felt this might now change and added that she would like to see facilities such as Derry airport, which is close to Donegal, developed through more flights from Dublin.

Earlier, speaking at the official opening of ATI, Ms Harney said the facility, which represents an investment of £3.4 million, was evidence of the Canadian-based group's commitment to Ireland.

ATI, which is the world leader in 3D graphics chips and graphics add-in boards for the computer industry, currently employs 90 people in Swords, Co Dublin.

ATI handles all product distribution and customer support for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It has 200 customers in 50 countries.

The company is ahead of its job creation target - it was supposed to take on 90 employees by the year 2000 - and its president and chief executive Mr K.Y. Ho said yesterday that he envisaged continued expansion at the Dublin facility.