Shoppers being urged to buy locally for Christmas

Christmas shoppers are being encouraged to buy Irish and to shop locally.

There are only two retail days remaining before Christmas on Thursday.

Last week, figures figures released showed that the average household here spends €1,400 celebrating the festive season.

The Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association, says that every €10 spent in an area, generates €24 for the local economy.

Chief Executive of ISME, Mark Fielding, said: "It pays for the consumer as well, because when you are buying locally produced goods you can go back to the shops and retailers and you can get any problems sorted out much faster than if you were buying imported goods."