The volume of retail sales rose strongly in February, helped by a surge in sales in the motor sector, according to official figures.
The Central Statistics Office said the volume of sales was up 3% compared with the same month last year, the first annual increase for more than two years.
Overall sales jumped by 14.9% from January, but this was boosted by a 34.5% jump in motor sales.
Car sales suffered a dramatic collapse in the early months of last year, but have been boosted this year by the scrappage scheme introduced in the Budget.
When motor sales were removed, retail sales still increased 1.2% compared with January, though they were down 3.1% from February last year.
This is still the smallest annual fall since 2008.
