Nearly 500 permanent roles have been generated by the Irish Restaurant Sector, it has been revealed.

The Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI) recently released figures that show the extent of the sector's contribution.

In its survey of 148 eateries across the country, the RAI discovered that more than 61 per cent of its members have taken on over two members of staff in the past two months.

Large chain restaurants accounted for 220 of the roles, while individual venues added 270 jobs to the total.

Adrian Cummins, chief executive of the RAI, attributed the growth the abolition of the Joint Labour Committee's Employment Regulation Order.

"Any attempts to re-establish these anti-business, anti-employer and anti-job creation mechanisms [will] grind the recovery to the Hospitality Sector," he said.

His statement follows figures from Ireland's Central Statistics Office, which indicate that the amount of people on the Live Register grew by 0.4 per cent in August.

Posted by Alex Donnell