Twenty-two years ago, I began work in the Amann plant in Tralee. At that time, it was Burlington, then Klopman, and now Amann. As I sat with my friends and colleagues – all 240 of us – last Friday, waiting to hear the news of our future, it is impossible to describe the feeling, then the dreaded word… Redundant.

When a plant the size of Amann closes, not only are jobs lost, but a way of life. Some of my colleagues have worked there since it opened in 1973. People have grown up, got married, raised families and become grandparents under its roof. It is tragic that by July 2010, it will be gone, and even more tragic that this has been allowed to happen.

I blame successive governments for neglecting manufacturing for the past 20 years. Tens of thousands of industrial workers were made redundant in this country even during the boom. The governments didn't care; they had income from the construction industry. In this county, there was massive investment in tourism, to the detriment of manufacturing.

As we left the plant, I noticed that of all the Kerry TDs, only Martin Ferris had come to offer support, which was appreciated. To add insult to injury, I heard Jimmy Deenihan on the radio giving lip service and quoting "labour costs". We had just lost our jobs, and a man earning more than €100,000 per year was preaching to us about labour costs. The anger I felt is indescribable. We were not an expensive workforce. Our wages were made acceptable by our shift allowance for working all hours of the day and night. Mr Deenihan, we couldn't live on less. Then we had government TD Tom McEllistrim telling us that the government had done their best. How dare they.

When redundancies were originally announced in January, the main reason given was energy costs. Amann's energy costs rose unabated. They even considered using alternative energy methods to address this, but no encouragement or incentive was given to them.

Driving through Clash Industrial estate, I looked at the factories up there now closed. Even in the 1980s, they were booming. Tragically, these industries are being allowed to die off, until they are all gone.

Of those who lost their jobs last Friday, many will have mortgages or children in college. Others are young people full of hope of creating homes and families. What is out there for them? Emigration is no longer an option. The government has squandered so many opportunities.

On 24 April, it was our turn. Other factories in Tralee are under threat. It has to stop. Our plant has been there since 1973, a fully functioning manufacturing facility, with hundreds of skilled industrial workers ready and willing to work. I call on anyone who will listen to work to get another employer back into that plant. We have to give hope, especially to the younger people. Hope is necessary for survival.

Geraldine Nolan (former Amann employee),

61 Cahermoneen,

Tralee, Co Kerry.