M&S Ireland executive Neil Hyslop blamed a wet June for limp clothes sales in the Republic's 13 shops, although he said homeware products were moving.

Hyslop said first-quarter sales in Irish branches were "in line" with a group-wide increase of 14.8%, more than double the 6.4% quarterly increase in the chain's 400 UK outlets.

M&S Group does not break down figures for Ireland but annual revenue is estimated to near 500m. UK annual turnover is stg�800bn.

Marks and Spencer employs roughly 3,000 staff in the Republic and expects to hire up to 150 new staff to man its new Tallaght shop. The company will also open an Athlone branch in October, adding up to 100 new jobs.

M&S is challenging a planning decision regarding a controversial new shop outside Tralee which local councillors would prefer to see inside the town centre. Hyslop claimed there was no suitable site with planning permission in Tralee, and the town centre already had large retailers such as Next and TK Maxx in situ.

The Scotsman also played down speculation M&S would announce plans for a shop in Limerick imminently.

"We would like a store in Limerick, but we need to find the right location, the right price and planning permission, " he said.

Hyslop added the company was open to sitting down with developers and had had several ongoing "conversations" in the area over the past three years.

Retailers faced "dynamic change" in Ireland, according to Hyslop, with the influx of international chains, and a rise in large shopping centres such as Dundrum, Mahon Point and Newbridge changing the landscape.

New research by property advisers Jones Lang LaSalle shows 115,635square metres of shopping centre space was created over the past 18 months. The Republic now has 1.71 million square metres of shopping meccas, giving it the third-highest level of mall space in Europe per capita.

Meanwhile, M&S shops in Northern Ireland launched a pilot plastic bag levy last week as part of the firm's drive to become carbon neutral within five years. Hyslop said experience from the introduction of the levy in the Republic was being digested across the group.