
Wexford GAA Star opens county's newest Lidl store
Wexford ladies Gaelic football vice-captain Aisling Halligan and team mate Clara Donnelly, joined store team to officially cut the ribbon.
'I was so happy to get the chance to meet with Lidl shoppers and celebrate the opening of the Rocksborough store. This new Lidl store is great news for Wexford and I could really see that through the positive reactions of the local community who came out in their droves for the ribbon cutting this morning,' said Aisling.
'Lidl has had a longstanding partnership with the LFGA, and it's great to see them continue to support the Wexford area through their support of local sports clubs and by bringing fresh Irish produce and new employment to Rocksborough.'
The first ten customers through the doors were given vouchers to spend on their shop. It was a day for the whole family with face painting, entertainment, a play area and music.
As part of the opening celebrations, Catherine McCurdy, Director of Services at Wexford Women's Refuge was in attendance to receive a donation of €1,000 in Lidl vouchers to support the local charity's services.
The refuge assists women who are experiencing domestic, sexual or gender-based violence, offering a 24-hour emergency helpline, as well as a refuge centre which is open 24/7.
And the store opening was a positive step forward for business and employment. Lidl Ireland employs more than 5,000 employees in its nearly 200 stores and procured €7 million worth of goods and services from 17 Wexford producers.
Lidl Ireland's key Wexford suppliers include a new supplier contract with Slaney Farms who provide home-grown potatoes to Lidl's local store network in the region, and a long-standing relationship with vegetable supplier Begleys.
It's regional Managing Director Niall Murrary said 'As a top employer in the country, I'm also thrilled to welcome 30 new team members to our growing workforce and to continue to expand Lidl's presence here in Wexford.'
There was a huge crowd there when the store opened, with reports of nearby traffic congestion as a result.
Lidl's Rocksborough store is open daily: Monday – Saturday 8:00am – 10:00pm and Sunday 9:00am – 9:00pm
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


RTÉ News
33 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
Over €66m unclaimed from Deposit Return Scheme
Irish consumers last year turned their back on €66.7m when they failed to cash in their deposits for drink containers through the Government's Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). That is according to the 2024 annual report for Re-Turn which shows that the failure by consumers to redeem the €66m worth in deposits for their drink containers was the chief reason behind the State-backed firm to record a pre-tax surplus of €51.3m for 2024. Established by Government, Re-Turn went live with its Deposit Return Scheme operations on 1 February 2024 with the aim to significantly increase the recycling rates of bottles and cans. Last year, 877.85m containers were returned made up of 433.2m plastic bottles and 444.6m cans. The annual report shows Re-turn recorded revenues of €114.4m in 2024. This included the €66.7m in unredeemed deposits and €47.7m made up of €17.2m from the sale of material and €30.5m from 'producer fees'. The annual report discloses that the income from unredeemed deposits has resulted in a VAT settlement by Re-turn of €23.7m. The company's 2024 costs totalled €62.2m made up of direct collection and recycling costs of €46.5m and administrative expenses of €15.7m which included a spend of €4.6m on 'marketing, communications, and public awareness'. The report states that the €66.7m reflects the recognition of unredeemed deposits for the financial year and "this is after a €36.5m estimate of deposits expected to be returned post year end". The report states that "unredeemed deposits are an expected and routine scenario for deposit return schemes and it was anticipated that in the initial transition period redemptions would be low and therefore there would be a high level of unredeemed deposits". The report states that "as a not-for-profit organisation, in the early stages of our maturity, the fees from unredeemed containers are being reinvested in a number of ways". These include paying off initial scheme set-up costs; infrastructure development; consumer education campaigns and contributing to its legally required contingency reserve. The report adds that income from unredeemed deposits "is expected to significantly reduce as the scheme reaches its targeted redemptions of 90% in the coming years". The report states that "in the long term, should unredeemed deposits be higher than forecast, we would support initiatives that drive increased adoption of the scheme as well as investing in broader innovative projects designed to further the country's circular economy strategy". The report states that Re-Turn closed the year with a cash balance of €89.8m. The report states that this cash figure will reduce significantly in 2025 when several significant draw-downs are scheduled and after accounting for these factors the adjusted cash balance would reduce to approximately €32m. The significant draw-downs include a VAT settlement on unredeemed deposits of €23.7m; a provision of €13.8m for Re-Turn's contingency reserve fund; a settlement of the remaining €11.7m balance of the facility agreement with Bank of Ireland grant settlement of c.€3.2m to retailers in respect of 2024 and a provision of €5.4m for corporation tax arising on surplus in the scheme. In comments attached to the report, Re-Turn CEO Ciaran Foley stated: "Thanks to the incredible buy-in and adoption from the Irish public, 877 million containers were returned through DRS in 2024, equating to an average 66% post transition period recycling rate. "The seasonality of the soft drinks market was reflected in some even higher months, such as in August when the return rate reached 75%. Every 1% increase equates to around 19 million containers, and we recorded some daily returns of over 5 million products over the Christmas period." Chair of Re-Turn Tony Keohane stated that the launch of Ireland's Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) in February 2024 marked a defining milestone in the country's journey toward a more sustainable future. He said: "From a standing start in Autumn 2022, the scheme collected more than 877 million drinks containers in its first 11 months. In that short time, we've seen Irish consumers recycle more bottles and cans than ever before and do so in a way that produces high quality recyclate, helping build a truly circular economy."


Irish Daily Mirror
3 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Irish consumers generate €66m for Re-Turn by not redeeming deposits
Irish consumers last year turned their back on €66.7m when they failed to cash in their deposits for soft drink containers through the Government's Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). That is according to the 2024 annual report for Re-turn which shows that the failure by consumers to redeem the €66m worth in deposits for their soft drink containers was the chief reason behind the State-backed firm to record a pre-tax surplus of €51.3m for 2024. Established by Government, Re-Turn went live with its Deposit Return Scheme operations on February 1, 2024 with the aim to significantly increase the recycling rates of bottles and cans. Last year, 877.85m containers were returned made up of 433.2m plastic bottles and 444.6m cans. The annual report shows Re-turn recorded revenues of €114.4m in 2024. This included the €66.7m in unredeemed deposits and €47.7m made up of €17.2m from the sale of material and €30.5m from 'producer fees'. The annual report discloses that the income from unredeemed deposits has resulted in a VAT settlement by Re-turn of €23.7m. The company's 2024 costs totalled €62.2m made up of direct collection and recycling costs of €46.5m and administrative expenses of €1.5.7m which included a spend of €4.6m on 'marketing, communications, and public awareness'. The report states that the €66.7m reflects the recognition of unredeemed deposits for the financial year and "this is after a €36.5m estimate of deposits expected to be returned post year end". The report states that "unredeemed deposits are an expected and routine scenario for deposit return schemes and it was anticipated that in the initial transition period redemptions would be low and therefore there would be a high level of unredeemed deposits." Special bins for rejected cans have been installed beside some machines The report states that "as a not-for-profit organisation, in the early stages of our maturity, the fees from unredeemed containers are being reinvested in a number of ways. "These include paying off initial scheme set-up costs; infrastructure development; consumer education campaigns and contributing to our legally required contingency reserve." The report adds that income from unredeemed deposits "is expected to significantly reduce as the scheme reaches its targeted redemptions of 90 per cent in the coming years". The report states that "in the long term, should unredeemed deposits be higher than forecast, we would support initiatives that drive increased adoption of the scheme as well as investing in broader innovative projects designed to further the country's circular economy strategy". The report states that Re-turn closed the year with a cash balance of €89.8m. The report states that this cash figure will reduce significantly in 2025 when several significant draw-downs are scheduled and after accounting for these factors the adjusted cash balance would reduce to approximately €32m. The significant draw-downs include a VAT settlement on unredeemed deposits of €23.7m; a provision of €13.8m for Re-turn's contingency reserve fund; a settlement of the remaining €11.7m balance of the facility agreement with Bank of Ireland grant settlement of c.€3.2m to retailers in respect of 2024 and a provision of €5.4m for corporation tax arising on surplus in the scheme. In comments attached to the report, ceo of Re-turn, Ciaran Foley has stated: "Thanks to the incredible buy-in and adoption from the Irish public, 877 million containers were returned through DRS in 2024, equating to an average 66 per cent post transition period recycling rate10." He said: "The seasonality of the soft drinks market was reflected in some even higher months, such as in August when the return rate reached 75 per cent. Every 1 per cent increase equates to around 19 million containers, and we recorded some daily returns of over 5 million products over the Christmas period." Chair of Re-turn, Tony Keohane stated that the launch of Ireland's Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) in February 2024 marked a defining milestone in the country's journey toward a more sustainable future. He said: "From a standing start in Autumn 2022, the scheme collected more than 877 million drinks containers in its first 11 months. In that short time, we've seen Irish consumers recycle more bottles and cans than ever before and do so in a way that produces high quality recyclate, helping build a truly circular economy." Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.

The Journal
4 hours ago
- The Journal
Concern as number of unemployed young people jumped by a percentage point in just one month
A SPIKE IN unemployment among young people – with roughly one in eight who are eligible to work not working – should not be ignored, experts have said. Data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) published yesterday found that 12.2% of people aged between 15 and 24 years old who are eligible to work are currently unemployed . 'Consistently having in or around 40,000 young people without work in a booming economy cannot and should not be ignored by policymakers and wider society,' Dr Laura Bambrick of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions told The Journal. The figure excludes the vast majority of people in that age group, who are still in full-time education or training. However, it jumped by almost one percentage point in the space of a month, sparking concern about business confidence in the current climate. One expert said that the spike in youth unemployment could suggest that business confidence is 'softening' in the face of US tariffs and general global uncertainty. Another expert said forthcoming reports will provide a clearer picture of the Irish job market. Chief economist at Grant Thornton Andrew Webb said firms are being more cautious right now, which could create an environment where firms are less likely to fill junior roles. 'Policymakers should take this signal seriously,' he said. 'If ignored, today's flicker could become a more persistent fault.' Advertisement Dr Laura Bambrick of ICTU echoed Webb's comments that policymakers need to pay attention to the figure. However, she noted that common reasons given for high unemployment rates – including the cost of minimum wage or 'generous' welfare payments – ignores key facts, including that youth unemployment in Ireland remains the lowest rate in the EU. A different CSO report today shows those under 24 years old make up one of the smallest cohorts of people registered for the jobseekers' allowance , or equivalent social welfare payments, second only to people aged between 55 and 59. Bambrick also highlighted that the vast majority of people are still in education and that, as with all reports, yesterday's jobs data is still subject to revision. 'It is true that an uptick in youth unemployment can be the canary in the coal mine, signalling an economic downturn,' she said, noting that the CSO's Labour Force Survey, to be published soon, will give us a 'more accurate picture' of the Irish job market. Uncertainty remains over the Irish economy in the medium term, particularly for the future of tariffs on key sectors such as pharma and tech. The EU is adamant that a 15% cap on all tariffs had been agreed in the recent deal with the US, but Donald Trump has claimed that tariffs as high as 200% could be placed on targeted industries in the future. Despite pronouncements from Webb and business representatives, Irish firms may be screaming into the void when it comes to receiving support to combat higher costs associated with US tariffs. Under the government's current analysis, though some reports do not take tariffs into account, Ireland looks poised to boost its revenue and economic growth into the end of the year. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal