Christmas shoppers urged to buy Irish

IRISH consumers have been urged to buy Irish in the run up to Christmas as the nation’s tills will ring up nearly €5 billion in sales.

In total, Irish shoppers are expected to fork out €4.7bn as they celebrate the festive season.

But one of the country’s leading employer bodies, ISME, says by buying Irish they will help struggling Irish companies enjoy some Christmas cheer as may struggle to survive the worst economic and financial conditions in 100 years. Buying Irish will help to create and secure Irish jobs in a difficult time for Irish manufacturers, producers and retailers, Mark Fielding, the chief executive of ISME said in a statement yesterday.