A SENIOR executive from the parent company, Delphi Packard is believed to have informed the Taoiseach yesterday evening of the imminent closure of Packard Electric.
The loss of hundreds of jobs at the car wiring systems plant in Tallaght drew a "no comment" response from the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise and Employment, Mr Pat Rabbitte. The Minister is the Democratic Left TD for the area.
Efforts were last night under way to contact the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Mr Bruton, who is in Korea on an industrial promotions trip for the IDA.
Although the official response from Government spokesmen was minimal it is understood the closure of the plant did not come as a complete surprise.
There had been serious concerns for many months about the long term prospects for the plant and these fears were reinforced when it became apparent that the workers laid off temporarily last summer were not going to be reemployed.
It is understood the Taoiseach and Mr Rabbitte were informed that the company could not continue operating by the parent company's representative in Dublin. The workers were to be informed later in the week, and it is unclear how the matter became public last night.
Fianna Fail will seek to raise the issue in the Dail today. Party sources said last night that they had raised the Packard problem several times in the Dail recently, but could never secure assurances of any kind from the Government.
Last night, a spokesman for Mr Rabbitte said the Minister had no comment to make. The news also comes as a blow to Mr Rabbitte who has been in discussion with the company on a regular basis since its troubles became apparent.