Irish MP seeks Dell meeting

Ireland's deputy prime minister has been urged to seek a meeting with Michael Dell as the uncertainty grows about the future of the PC giant's Irish operations.

Dell currently employs 4,400 people in Ireland, 3,000 of whom are based in Limerick, which is the company's European manufacturing hub. The vendor contributes more than five per cent of Ireland's gross national product and accounts for four per cent of the Irish economy's total expenditure.

Speculation about the future of the Limerick plant has circulated for a number of months after a facility was opened in Poland last year. Up to 700 temporary workers have been let go by Dell in Ireland this month and the knock-on effects have started to hit the firm's suppliers.

Banta Global Turnkey is one of Dell's major suppliers in Ireland and the supply chain management firm revealed this week that it is make 65 redundancies. This follows the announcement last week that more than 100 jobs are at risk at, Flextronics, another Dell supplier.

Irish deputy prime minister Mary Coughlan, who also serves as minister for enterprise, trade and employment, is in the US this week. Assembly delegate for Limerick East Kieran O'Donnell has called on her to seek a personal audience with Michael Dell to discuss how employment in the area can be safeguarded.

O'Donnell told the Irish Times: "Dell is too important to the Limerick region, with many thousands of other jobs linked into the Dell plant, and proactive measures on the part of Government are imperative."