Unions at Ispat, the closed Cork steel plant, have indicated they may be prepared to make even greater sacrifices than those already offered to the company in a final effort to have the plant reopened.

Last week, without prior warning, Ispat closed the plant, citing losses of £750,000 (#952,303) a month which had become unsustainable, the company said. According to SIPTU regional branch secretary Mr Joe O'Flynn, the Ispat group of unions was preparing to offer a cost-savings package of up to £29 million over a 21-month period when the closure was announced. At a break during lengthy talks in Cork with management yesterday, chaired by Mr Kevin Foley of the Labour Relations Commission, Mr O'Flynn indicated that in an effort to save the 400 jobs at the former Irish Steel plant, the unions would be willing to go further than the savings package already outlined to management.

Talks were ongoing late last evening and are expected to continue today. Tomorrow, the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, will travel to London where she will hold talks with senior officials of Ispat International including the chief executive, Mr Lakshmi Mittal.

Ms Harney has said the talks will seek to assess the parent company's position and whether a deal may be brokered that could save all or some of the jobs at the plant. However, she has made it plain that having sold the plant to Ispat for £1 in 1995, the Government would not and could not under EU law consider making any further funds available to it.