Tesco has reported a sharp drop in sales in Ireland once again.

In a statement this morning, the company said that like-for-like sales, which exclude new shop openings, dropped 4.4% in the second quarter of its financial year.

That’s worse than the 3.7% decline in the first quarter.

The company blamed the drop on Ireland falling back into recession and consumers facing pressure on their household finances.

Tesco also said its sales have been hit by the likes of discount chains Aldi and Lidl.

Overall Tesco today said that its profits globally slumped 24% to £1.3 billion STG.

Sales were up just 0.5% to £35 billion STG.