The collpase of a Co Galway construction was announced today with the loss of 160 jobs.
The employees, 75 of them from Poland, were told this morning that Bilcon Construction was being placed in liquidation.
Labour Party President and Deputy for Galway West, Michael D Higgins sympathised with the workers whose their wages, holiday and redundancy entitlement are being left in the hands of a liquidator.
"The company was responsible for the accommodation for the Polish workers, so they now find themselves with no jobs, no homes, and no livelihood," he said.
A spokesperson for the Polish workers said they were shocked by the closure and were extremely worried.
Mr Higgins added the priority now was to find alternatives for all the Bilcon employees but that this was complicated by a recent spate of closures in the area: "In the space of one week, in May, 270 jobs were lost following the closure of two major manufacturing firms."
Bilcon Construction is part of a group of companies operating throughout Ireland and includes construction, plant and crane hire, haulage, hotels, restaurants, pubs and an Irish/Polish recruitment agency.