The senior and Junior Ministers at the Department of Jobs have insisted that the IDA IS continuing to engage with Roche representatives in Ireland and in Switzerland in an effort to secure a new buyer for the company's plant in Clarecastle.
Mary Mitchell O'Connor and Pat Breen have been speaking in the wake of criticism of their performance from within government ranks.
Roche is due to remain on in Clarecastle for another three years but for around 120 workers that's no consolation, as the wind-down process has already begun.
In light of this announcement, Clare Fine Gael TD Joe Carey criticised government efforts to secure a buyer for the facility, and called on the Jobs Minister to travel to Switzerland in a last ditch effort to save jobs.
Today, his fellow Clare Fine Gael TD and Junior Minister for Employment and Small Business, Pat Breen said this call was considered but that it was considered a "bad idea" that could do "more harm than good."
He insisted that no stone will go unturned in the effort to secure alternative employment, and was asked if he was confident whether an investment would be found.
Meanwhile, at an IDA event in Dublin, the Minister for Jobs and Enterprise expressed her sympathy with Roche workers who face the prospect of becoming unemployed.
Minister Mary Mitchell O'Connor says efforts are ongoing to secure a new buyer:
While the CEO of the IDA Ireland Martin Shanahan outlined what his staff have been doing to date.
