Co Donegal has begun reaping the rewards of its fight to attract jobs following substantial losses in recent years in the textile industry.
Some 262 jobs from Irish companies, backed by Enterprise Ireland, started to come on stream this year, while the Industrial Development Authority says foreign investors have the potential to deliver a further 350 in the coming months.
However, SIPTU says job creation agencies need to work harder to bring jobs to the county where unemployment is at about 20 per cent - more than four times the national average.
Donegal suffered a series of blows in the past two years with up to 1,500 redundancies in the textile sector, including more than 1,000 lay-offs following the closure of Fruit of the Loom plants in Dungloe, Raphoe, Malin Head and Milford.
Mr Frank Conlon, the IDA's area director for the north-west, said its three-year programme for the county is beginning to yield results. But he cautioned there were no "quick fixes" to reverse the county's fortunes.
"The whole development of Donegal is about the transformation of the industrial base from textile dependency to new high-quality type industry," he said.
The IDA is targeting engineering, healthcare, international services and software companies for the area, he added.
Recent successes include the opening of a software applications development centre by the Prudential Insurance Company in the IDA-built Letterkenny Office Park. Prumerica Systems Ireland is expected to hire up to 150 people with information technology skills.
The US medical healthcare company, PacificCare, has also opened an insurance claims processing centre in Letterkenny with 100 staff.
"We are pushing ahead and we are not going to be diminished by setbacks," he added.
One of these setbacks was the recent pull-out by US clothing manufacturer Hawkes Bay from the former Fruit of the Loom plant in Raphoe, where up to 300 jobs had been anticipated.
The future of Fruit of the Loom's former plant in Malin Head is brighter, as a Belfast-based integrated marketing company is planning to turn it into a call centre and direct mail house with assistance from Enterprise Ireland.
Forward Emphasis International says it hopes to create up to 200 posts over 18 months in the 16,000 sq ft facility, due to open in the autumn.
The IDA is in negotiations with a client for the former Fruit of the Loom Milford plant.
However, Mr Sean Reilly, SIPTU Donegal branch secretary, said more work was needed to redress the jobs imbalance in the county, including "huge improvements" in infrastructure such as telecommunications to accommodate high-tech companies.
"I accept that there are not quick fixes, but I think a lot more could be done a lot quicker," he said. "It has been known for three years that clothing companies were in danger and there was no contingency plan to replace them."
Mr Barry Egan, the northwest regional director of Enterprise Ireland, acknowledges the need for improved telecommunications infrastructure.
"We have begun to get some of the new industries in and that will have a knock-on effect over time. It's not happening as quickly as we would like, but the challenge is significant in making it happen."