Tesco has announced plans to create 400 new jobs across Ireland as part of a €40m investment to expand the retailer’s operations and open 10 new stores over the next 12 months.

This will bring the company’s total permanent workforce in Ireland to over 13,500, and its total number of stores to 193.

The new jobs will be in areas such as customer assistants, grocery home delivery drivers, and line managers. The company said that 100 of these new roles will be created at Tesco’s new store in Fermoy, Co Cork, which is set to open at the end of July.

In addition to Cork, new Tesco stores will be opened in Dublin, Galway, Louth, and Meath, with recruitment for supermarkets in both the M1 Retail Park and Howth set to start in the autumn.

In the Republic of Ireland, the company said it had grown its market share to 23.3%, as food sales grew 5.8%, with volume growth supported by “continued investment in our fresh proposition”.

The new Tesco stores opening across Ireland will comprise of a mix of both Tesco Express stores and larger supermarkets.

Last month, Tesco also acquired McEvoy’s supermarket in Virginia, Co Cavan, with its 43 staff from being transferred to Tesco, with an additional six new roles created in the local community.

Chief executive of Tesco Ireland, Geoff Byrne, said this investment “underscores our commitment to maintaining our position as a leading employer and retailer in Ireland”.

“Our colleagues are at the heart of our business, and we look forward to welcoming new team members this year and recognising them with market-leading rewards and benefits,” he added.

Enterprise minister Peter Burke said the investment is “a clear endorsement of Ireland’s retail sector and workforce”.

Tesco has seen a strong start to its latest financial year in Ireland, reporting a 5.5% increase in sales during its first quarter to just over €900m.

In June, the wider Tesco Group reported sales of just under £16.4bn in the three months to May 24 — a 4.6% increase year-on-year. The bulk of its sales were made in the UK, which accounted for €15.36bn in sales, up 4.7%.