Sports Socks Ireland, a textile manufacturing plant producing Wilson sports socks, which was the single biggest employer in Caherciveen, Co Kerry, for 14 years, ended production yesterday with the loss of almost 150 jobs.
Some of the employees said that they would have no choice but to emigrate from south Kerry.
A further 100 workers remain under protective notice in the plant's sister operation in Tralee.
The job losses at the textile plant come on top of the closure in July of the 50-year-old peat-burning electricity station at Deelis near the town with the loss of 14 jobs. Some 200 turf suppliers in the area have been affected.
The Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Mr O'Donoghue, said that the loss of the jobs at Sports Socks Ireland was a "devastating blow" for his native town.
Mr O'Donoghue conceded that there was a problem in persuading large industries to move to rural areas.
However, it was "not all doom and gloom in Caherciveen". Enterprise and development bodies - FÁS, Enterprise Ireland and local development organisations - had carried out an audit of skills and were drawing up proposals for employment. The IDA was studying the feasibility of opening enterprise units at the industrial estate.
Government initiatives in recent years have included the transfer of a section of the Legal Aid Board, which now employs more than 40 people in Caherciveen.
Kellwood, the US company which bought the Caherciveen textile plant only last year, has been keen to sell it for some time. The decision to close was based on the ongoing unsustainable losses caused by increased costs and reduced customer demand.