Representatives of 20 small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) last night began a Forbairt partnership mission in the US, meeting together in Boston along with the Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms Harney.

The representatives are in the US for the week with the aim of establishing joint ventures, technology transfers or other forms of partnership with America companies.

After further meetings in Boston today they will travel to various destinations in the US to meet with local company executives. On Wednesday, Ms Harney will travel with a number of the Irish business people to Texas, where she will attend some of the meetings scheduled between the prospective partners. The US companies involved include Hewlett Packard and Bell.

It is hoped that a number of positive job announcements will be made during the visit. During the trip Ms Harney is also to meet executives from a number of US multinationals who are major employers in Ireland, to discuss details of their operations here.

On Tuesday, Ms Harney is scheduled to hold meetings in Chicago with senior executives from Fruit of the Loom and Motorola. Fruit of the Loom employs over 2,500 people in Donegal and Ms Harney will be having her fourth meeting since August with chairman and chief executive, Mr Bill Farley, to discuss his company's future plans for Ireland. The company employs a further 1,000 people in Co Derry.

In recent years short-time work has been introduced at Fruit of the Loom plants on the Inishowen Peninsula but last month Mr Farley said that with the company reporting a strong recovery in profits and further growth predicted, the company was now well positioned to achieve growth in its T-shirt and fleece businesses - much of which is manufactured in its Irish operations.

Earlier this month Motorola announced a worldwide restructuring involving the loss of 15,000 jobs. At the time of the announcement, prompted by a weakening demand for its products, senior company executives briefed IDA on the development.

The company employs 1,600 people in Dublin and Cork but its plans for its Irish operations are not known. It is thought that if jobs in Ireland are affected, it will most likely be at the Dublin plant in Swords. It is thought likely that contract jobs, of which are understood to be about 400, would be affected first.

Sources have said that a planned 120-job semiconductor centre in Cork will not be affected by the worldwide restructuring. The jobs at the proposed centre are due to come on stream over the next three years.

On Friday, Ms Harney will travel to San Jose, California, to meet senior executives from Apple, to discuss their plans for their printed circuit board manufacturing operation in Cork. An announcement in relation to this operation is expected from the company some time shortly after the meeting with Ms Harney.

Last week, she said she was "seriously concerned" about the future of the printed circuit board operation in Cork. Up to 500 people are employed in the operation. Overall 1,800 are employed by Apple in Cork.

There has been speculation that a decision to close the printed circuit board operation is likely to be made by the company and Ms Harney will be urging the Apple executives to target new business to the Cork plant.

The general secretary of SIPTU, Mr John McDonnell, and other representatives of his union, met Ms Harney last week to discuss the Apple situation and to urge her to argue forcefully for the Cork plant during the San Jose meeting.

Ms Harney has been assured by the company that no final decision will be made in relation to the operation prior to the Friday meeting.

Ms Harney returns to Ireland on Saturday.