Retail sales rose by 1.7 per cent last month - the third largest monthly increase in a year - as sales of cars, furniture and lighting all increased.

Nonetheless, Retail Ireland, the Ibec-affiliated group, described the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) as "very disappointing".

It said the value of sales, excluding motor trades and bars, stayed “exactly the same” as March last year, suggesting retailers were aggressively discounting prices to increase footfall.

The group also pointed to the meagre 0.5 per cent rise in the value of sales recorded in the first quarter of 2014, which it said was disappointing given the low base at which sales stood in 2013.

Retail Ireland said the sales value reflected the actual turnover from sales and as such was a better barometer of business conditions than the volume of sales .

Several analysts, however, insisted the underlying trend for the sector remained positive, with sales, in volume terms , up by 8.9 per cent on an annual basis in March.

When volatile motor sales are stripped out, the CSO data showed retail sales fell by 1.1 per cent last month, but were up 2.2 per cent on an annual basis.

The sector with the largest monthly increase was motor trades, which recorded a 6.5 per cent jump in sales in March. The car industry remains the strongest-performing sector in the Irish retail market, with sales up 31 per cent year-on-year in March.

Sales of furniture and lighting goods enjoyed a 4.4 per cent bounce on the back of recovery in the property market, while department store sales also rose by 2.2 per cent.

On the downside, sales of hardware, paints and glass dropped by 3.5 per cent.

There was a 1.1 per cent decline in sales at non-specialised stores and a 1 per cent fall in sales of pharmaceuticals, medical and cosmetic items.

Financial services firm Glas Securities said the figures again showed the diverging paths of the overall retail sales series and the series which excludes the motor industry.

“With such a discrepancy between the performance of motor industry sales and other retail categories, it is difficult to judge what the figures say about the health of the domestic economy at present,” it said.

Goodbody economist Juliet Tennent said the strong growth in car sales was undoubtedly a reflection of a renewed confidence in a certain cohort of Irish households.

“However, despite the positive trends in the labour market, a recovery in Irish consumer cannot yet be described as broadly entrenched, with core retail spending falling for the third consecutive month in March,” she said.

Retail Ireland director Stephen Lynam said the uptick in sales of clothing, hardware and furniture were offset by falls in sales in supermarkets and specialised food shops, like butchers.

“The figures for the first quarter are disappointing. While any growth is welcome, an increase in the value of sales, excluding motor sales, of just 0.5 per cent is simply not enough to create jobs and prevent store closures.”

“One of the biggest issues facing retailers is high levels of local authority rates and charges. With the local elections on the horizon, we will be looking to candidates to outline what they intend to do to help to reduce the burden on struggling retailers”.

The CSO numbers showed there was an increase of 1.4 per cent in the value of retail sales in March compared with the previous month, and an annual increase of 6.4 per cent. However, when motor trades are excluded, there was a monthly decrease of 1.5 per cent in the value of retail sales and an annual decrease of 0.1 per cent.