One of Ireland’s main food retailers is temporarily hiring hundreds of new workers.

It is seeking those with experience in retail, fresh food, hospitality, driving and warehousing and has reached out to restaurant and hotel staff affected by the Covid-19 crisis.

The firm behind shops like Supervalu is trying to meet increased demand in stores around the country.

Musgrave has asked any businesses that have been forced to temporarily lay off staff with expertise in these areas to contact its human resources team.

The company’s retail partners across the country which operate SuperValu, Centra and Daybreak stores are also hiring directly and Musgrave has advised people whose employment has been affected by the virus to contact their local store about potential opportunities.

Musgrave chief executive Noel Keeley said: “We are doing all that we can, in the safest way that we can, to support communities across Ireland during this difficult time.

“There has been a huge increase in demand across our network for the past week-and-a-half and we expect to see increased footfall for an extended period now.

“To meet this level of demand, we need to increase our team numbers and ensure we have enough people to allow our current staff to get time to rest.”

He added: “We’re working closely with different representative bodies to prioritise those in the restaurant, food and retail sectors who were amongst the first to lose their jobs because of Covid-19.”