It was reported over the weekend that IDA chiefs – who over the last 15 years have given more than €74m in state aid to Dell – are "bracing themselves" for dramatic news next month that the Texan computer giant is to move operations completely to Lodz in Poland before the end of 2009.

And although the European Commission are examining an estimated €52.7m Polish state aid for Dell's plant in Lodz – a move which could delay the firm's move east – it looks set to be a worrying Christmas for the 3,000 workers at the firm's flagship European plant.

A Dell spokesperson in Dublin this morning told the Limerick Leader that there was no time scale communicated for the review of the Raheen plant, which is ongong.

A Dell spokesman was also reported in a Sunday newspaper as stating it is "business as usual" in Limerick, but added the plant remains "under review" as with all other global manufacturing sites.

Fine Gael's deputy finance spokesman Kieran O'Donnell has this morning written to Taoiseach Brian Cowen asking him to "intervene" in the situation, and to "instruct Tánaiste Mary Coughlan to seek an immediate meeting" with Dell's top brass in Austin, Texas.

"We are now up until the last week before Christmas, and this degree of uncertainty is unacceptable based on the Government's inaction. They were unaware of the downturn in the economy until last July, and here we have a situation where over 3,000 direct jobs and countless other thousands are on the line, and the Government appear to be doing nothing of a proactive nature," said Deputy O'Donnell.

Last month, Dell let more than 400 temporary workers go following the end of its production quarter, a move which led to several sub-supply firms - including Banta Global Turnkey and Flextronics downsize their staffing.

It is estimated that around six in every 100 people in this region are reliant on Dell for an income.