The spiral of jobs losses in the Donegal Gaeltacht is continuing to worsen with this week's announcement of another factory closure and the loss of more than 100 jobs.
The SIPTU union has called for immediate action to find replacement jobs saying unemployment in the area is at "crisis proportions".
Employers' group IBEC has said more job losses will follow unless the incoming government tackles the region's infrastructure deficit. IBEC regional director Padraig O'Grady said the continuing pattern of job losses could be attributed to "the unsustainable rise in the cost of doing business in Ireland". There was a need for "an immediate and radical response in order to secure existing employment in vulnerable companies".
The latest plant to close is Ruibear Motair Teo (RMT) which had earlier announced 25 lay-offs three weeks ago. With the firm now going into liquidation, a total of 145 jobs have been lost. Even before this week's announcement, more than 200 workers had lost their jobs in the Gweedore Industrial Estate over the past 12 months.
In 1999 the workforce on the estate was 1,500 but there are now only about 800 jobs remaining. In neighbouring Falcarragh, just two workers are left out of 150 three years ago.
SIPTU has been warning that more jobs were at risk in the area. The unemployment rate in Co Donegal is running at nearly 20 per cent and Gaeltacht areas of west Donegal have been hardest hit over recent years with the decline of traditional manufacturing industries.
SIPTU has criticised the response of State agencies to the closure of RMT, saying it was "a tragedy that a company with a full order book could be allowed to close".
Its members questioned if more could have been done by State agencies to save the jobs.
Mr O'Grady said he believed the unemployment rate in Co Donegal was on an upward trend. It was unacceptably high compared to the rest of the State. Letterkenny was the only area to benefit significantly from new investments.
He said IBEC believed infrastructure was the key issue as areas in the west and north of the county were "not on a level playing pitch".
If the government wanted to encourage people to live in rural Ireland, there was a need for basic infrastructure and jobs.
Focused projects in roads, telecommunications and energy were needed as a matter of urgency, he said. The leadership had to come from government.
Competitiveness was also a key issue for business. Action was needed on the cost of labour, insurance and electricity. Companies which had no claims had faced 100 per cent increases in premia over the past two years, electricity costs had increased by 13 to 23 per cent and wage increases were three times the level of other EU countries, he said.