18 Target Express workers have begun a sit-in at the Little Island plant of the company in Cork.

It comes after around 400 people at Target are out of work because the Revenue Commissioners rejected a plan to pay off the company debt.

That is according to the owner of the haulage firm Seamus McBrien.

The business is based in Mulhuddart in Dublin but has staff north of the border as well.

It has ceased trading after its accounts were frozen.

Revenue has declined to comment.

Mr. McBrien maintains that €1 million of debt was already paid off and plans were in place to clear another €300,00 by September.

“On Wednesday I think we told them we’d pay them on Friday – on Thursday, they put an attachment on our account and we couldn’t pay our wages” he said.

“Any money going into our bank accounts was being frozen”.

“On top of that – our 4 largest accounts – the Revenue wrote to them directly and told them to pay so much back to the Revenue instead of paying it back to our company” he added.

Spokesperson John Roche has been telling Cork’s RedFM about the current situation in Cork.

“The only bit of information that we’re getting off the company is that a receiver is coming into the company…basically that the company is gone, that our jobs have been terminated” he said.

“But we’re still owed our 2 weeks wages in money, we’re owed redundancy – we’ve been told nothing about that”.

“We’ve been told leave the depot – and…one of the managing directors told us that it’s pointless staying in the depot, because there’s no money there from the company” he added.

There is some good economic news this afternoon.

Consumer sentiment is at its highest level in almost 5 years.

That is according to the latest survey from KBC Bank and the ESRI.

It rose to 70 points in August from 67.7% in July.

Chief Economist with KBC Bank is Austin Hughes.

He says consumers are becoming less pessimistic particularly because of falling interest rates.

“One thing is for certain – it looks like interest rates are going to remain low for some significant time” he said.

“That’s helping borrowers, so consumers have one less thing  to worry about in that regard”.

“I think it’s a very important element in terms of the household finances; because certainly there’s no sign that wages are increasingly dramatically – and of course we face into another tough budget in December” he added.

We spent more in the shops last month.

That is according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

They show the volume of retail sales rose by 0.7% in July compared to the previous month.

But year-on-year it has fallen by 1.5%.

Month-on-month increases were seen in fuel, clothing and hardware items.

While decreases were recorded in bars and electrical goods.

Parents should not feel ‘forced’ to pay ‘voluntary contributions’.

The payments are invited by schools with a view to enhancing classroom environments with arts and crafts materials as well as teaching resources.

But complaints from The National Parent’s Council suggesting parents are being pressured into making ‘voluntary’ contributions are being rejected by principals.

Joseph Fogarty is the principal of Corballa National School in West Sligo.

He says he does not really understand the claims by the Parent’s Council.

“I really am baffled by that – I’ve never heard of any school (doing that)” he said.

“I mean they’re children for heaven’s sake – we’re in loco parentis, we’re in the place of parents”.

“Our job is to teach them and nurture them; we wouldn’t be saying ‘it’s paying for everyone on Friday except Johnny, because Johnny’s parents haven’t paid the voluntary contribution’”.

“You wouldn’t do that, obviously – it would be very self defeating and it would be cruel” he added.

The earlier cannabis users start smoking the drug the worse it can be for their brain.

That is what a new study in New Zealand has found.

It has linked the drug to a drop in long-term intelligence.

Newstalk’s Jack Quann has more.