An Irish branch of Domino's Pizza is topping the worldwide chain for sales.

An outlet in the Republic that handled €2.4 million worth of pizza orders in 2005 is the busiest in the chain, which has an estimated 9,000 branches around the world.

A spokeswoman for Domino's Pizza UK and Ireland said yesterday that it was the first branch in Domino's 45-year history to hit a turnover of $3 million (€2.4 million).

However, the company, which owns the franchise for Britain and Ireland, would not say where the branch was located. The franchisee requested that it keep the outlet's identity secret.

The spokeswoman said a number of branches in the State were members of its "two million club" because they had annual sales of $2 million. "But this one was the first Domino's Pizza ever to reach $3 million," she said.

Domino's is ultimately a US-owned franchise and is the biggest pizza delivery chain in the world.

The spokeswoman did concede that it would take more than one million pizzas to reach sales of €2.4 million. On the basis that branches open for around 90 hours a week, it would have to sell around 200 pizzas an hour to reach one million in a year.