German discount grocer Aldi will create 650 jobs in the Republic of Ireland over the next three years as it continues apace with growth plans.

The jobs will be created as part of a €350m investment in 35 new stores in the country plus a new distribution centre.

Donald Mackay, managing director of Aldi’s stores in the country, said: “We already employ 1,200 people in Ireland and we will see this reach almost 2,000 over the next three years.”

Aldi said that sales in the country soared 23 per cent in the first quarter of this year with year-on-year sales up 25 per cent in April.