Consumer spending rose by 11.3 per cent last year and the sum spent on goods and services was more than twice that in 1990, according to figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) yesterday.

Reflecting surging demand, the body said personal expenditure climbed to £44.29 billion last year from £39.79 billion in 1998.

Spending on housing - including rents, repairs, decorations, fuel and power - rose by 16.8 per cent to £6.79 billion, while expenditure on transport and communication rose by 14.3 per cent to £4.93 billion. In a document supplementing national income and expenditure data published last month, the CSO added that spending on alcohol and tobacco rose by 11.2 per cent to £4.78 billion last year.