Staff at two Waterford branches of Homesavers have expressed their shock and upset at the enforced closure of both premises as of midnight last night.
Some 50 staff at the Dungarvan and Tramore branches of the chain are out of work this morning on foot of a court order regarding breaches of planning permission.
Waterford City and County Council had originally sought an injunction against Homesavers in mid-November amid claims that some of their premises were operating without the appropriate planning permission.
The original injunction was set aside pending a full court hearing and yesterday the outcome was revealed, with orders that the Dungarvan and Tramore stores close as of midnight last night.
The store at Kingsmeadow in the city is allowed to stay open once it doesn't sell convenience items.
On this morning's Deise Today, Dungarvan store manager Saoirse Ronayne and Homesaves Area Manager Nicky Ralph spoke to Damien Tiernan.
Saoirse said the staff in Dungarvan are "very sad" and "left in limbo" now just before Christmas.
"We did all think we'd reach a common ground but that wasn't the case unfortunately," she told Damien.
Nicky said the company had worked with the council hoping to reach an agreement on the planning issues - but said the simple fact was that the stores had opened in units that had previously been empty.
"The Dungarvan store was empty for four years and my opinion is that it's the job of council to attract new businesses and bring jobs to the community," he told the programme.
"As a Tramore man, I was delighted I had moved back to the area and to be back in Tramore and working there again. It's all very distressing that with great sadness, we had to announce the closure of the stores."
You can listen back to the item on Deise Today this morning by clicking below here...
