A net increase of 35,000 jobs is expected this year, the Minister for Finance, Mr Cowen, told the Dáil as he faced concern about the 1,322 redundancies this month in seven different companies.
Labour leader Mr Pat Rabbitte, who listed all the companies announcing job losses, asked if the Government had legislative proposals to address the rate of loss, particularly in the more traditional manufacturing sector.
He said there had been a total of 1,322 redundancies this month - "140 job losses at Kantoher Chickens, 60 at Media Lab Europe, 220 at SerCom solutions in Clondalkin, 350 at Irish Sugar, 260 at Shannon Airport, 200 at APW Enclosures in Tallaght and 92 at Sara Lee".
Mr Cowen said that "all projects for the coming year indicate a net increase in employment of more than 35,000 on an already high level of employment that is unprecedented in the history of the State".
He added that "we are engaged in the provision of that new employment in a change in the nature of economic activity. Some of the traditional industries face competitive pressures, and we all regret job losses at any time."
Next week the Finance Bill is to be published, and the Minister said it would give legislative effect to measures announced in the Budget, including taking those on the minimum wage out of the tax net.
This, along with no increases in indirect tax, was also aimed at assisting employers in traditional industries to maintain employment levels despite the pressures they faced.
