Economy fears fail to curb consumer spend

FEARS over the economy did not stop Irish consumers from spending heavily in September, CSO figures show.

The volume of retail sales in September was 6.8% higher than the same month a year ago and 1.3% higher than in August.

The biggest increases were in sale of clothing and textiles (up 12% in volume terms from September 2006); furniture and lighting (up 6.3%); hardware, paints and electrical goods (up 6.7%) while books, newspapers and stationary volumes were 8.5% higher.