The volume of retail sales in January grew 9 per cent on last year's figures, the CSO has revealed.
Month on month, retail sales increased by 5.2 per cent.
When the motor trade is excluded, the annual increase drops to 7.9 per cent and the monthly change falls to 2.6 per cent.
In value terms, retail sales rose by 11 per cent in January 2006 compared with the same period a year earlier, and grew by 5.4 per cent in the month. Once again, excluding the motor trade sees the figures decline significantly, to 8.9 per cent annually and 2.8 per cent monthly.
In the three month period to December 2005, volume figures indicate that the largest increase in sales was experienced in the furniture and lighting sector, which grew 9.8 per cent. The largest decrease was seen in the pharmaceutical, medical and cosmetic articles sector, which fell 2.2 per cent.