asked the Minister for Industry, Trade, Commerce and Tourism the implications the closure of Mostek Ireland has for the industrial policy as published.
Written Answers. - Mostek Ireland Closure.
61.
The regrettable closure of Mostek Ireland arose from the decision in October 1985 by the parent company of the Mostek Corporation — United Technologies Corporation — to discontinue the manufacture of semi-conductors and to close permanently all the Mostek plants, including that of Mostek Ireland. This decision was taken on commercial grounds and arose from
—the current recession in the semiconductor market in the US and in particular the severe downturn since the end of 1984 in the prices of commodity memory chips, the product on which Mostek Corporation had been concentrating
—substantial trading losses incurred by Mostek Corporation.
Capital and training grants totalling £5.4 million have been paid by the IDA to the company but United Technologies have agreed to meet the outstanding liabilities to the IDA and the authority expects repayment of a substantial proportion of its outlay on the project. The closure of Mostek, due as it was to market forces, does not imply that a review of industrial policy is now required. On the contrary, this closure emphasises the need for the more selective approach to industrial development set out in the White Paper on industrial policy.