The Mandate Trade Union said there remains a level of concern among more than 200 staff at the House of Fraser store in Dundrum Town Centre — the sole outlet in the Republic — despite Sports Direct, the retailer controlled by Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, snapping up the department store group’s UK stores from its administrators.

British retail sales posted their biggest quarterly fall in seven years during the first three months of 2017, as rising prices since last year’s Brexit vote put more pressure on consumers, official data shows.