The Irish Exporters Association has called on the Minister of Finance to turn his attention to the Asian currency crisis.

The association's chief executive, Mr Colum MacDonnell, said insufficient attention had been paid to the currency element in the Seagate closure.

The Asian currency depreciations meant that an Irish exporter now finds that his south-east Asian competitor was offering the same product for 25 per cent less than a month ago, Mr MacDonnell pointed out. According to Mr MacDonnell, it is not just information technology business which is at risk but also chemicals and textiles.

He added that the pound had been overvalued since last March and called on the Minister to resist any pressure to revalue the pound. "It would be disastrous to hand over a competitive advantage at a time when Asian currency movements are having such a disastrous effect," he said.