The Opposition today castigated the Government over the downturn in the labour market and the poor performance of the economy.
The condemnation comes as job losses at the manufacturers of another of Ireland's most famous brands, Waterford Crystal, today followed redundancies at Tayto and Guinness and last week.
Earlier this week official figures showed the economy had slowed to a near standstill last year.
The Labour spokesperson on enterprise, trade and employment, Mr Brendan Howlin, said the job losses are now running at one every 15 minutes or nearly 2,500 in the past 28 days.
He condemned the Tánaiste, Ms Harney, for providing "woolly analysis . . . rather than doing anything about it".
"It is her Government that has fuelled inflation, decreased our economic competitiveness, allowed insurance premiums to rocket, driven up prices and costs and made the cost-base for employers so high.
"The Tánaiste, who for years revelled in announcements about job creation, must now accept political responsibility for these job losses," Mr Howlin said. The situation cannot simply be blamed on external factors, he added.
Sinn Féin Dáil leader and finance spokesperson Mr Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin also criticised the Tánaiste, saying the "PD-led" economic strategy has resulted in indigenous development being sacrificed at the expense of attracting investment from abroad.
"The over-reliance on the globalised market and on inward investment by multinational companies is leading to the dramatic drop in jobs that we are now seeing," he said.
The comments follow a attack by Fine Gael leader, Mr Enda Kenny, yesterday following the announcement of 175 job losses in his hometown of Castlebar.
He described the Government's management of the public finances as "reckless", saying its use of stealth taxes to pay for political-gain policies was part of a process that contributed to around 60 per cent of Ireland's inflation rate.
"Added to this, the Government has shown no urgency in bringing down insurance costs and tackling anti-competitive practises [and] the vested interests that are driving up costs," Mr Kenny said.