IKEA HAS ANNOUNCED that it will not be reopening its two Dublin stores next week after homeware stores were not listed among retailers permitted to open from Monday. 

The Swedish furniture giant had previously said it would reopen its outlets in Ballymun and Carrickmines if the government decided to begin Phase One of its roadmap for easing lockdown restrictions. 

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced this evening that Phase One of lifting Covid-19 restrictions will begin on Monday. However, the National Public Health Emergency Team advised the government that “retail outlets that are primarily outdoor” should only be allowed to re-open from Monday.  

Garden centres, farmers’ markets and hardware are among the retail stores that can open once again, but homeware stores were not included in this list as they are not considered “necessarily urgent”. 

Only stores that are providing homeware in a way that is “incidental” can re-open in Phase One.

“Following the Government’s announcement today, our store and order and collection point remain closed for the time being,” a spokesperson for Ikea said. 

“In the meantime, customers can still purchase our products online. We will continue to plan for the safe reopening of our stores, once we get the go-ahead from the authorities, and look forward to welcoming back our customers in the not too distant future.”