Retail sales have increased by 8.6% in the 12 months to September.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) says the figures increased only slightly in the month - by 0.3% when compared with August 2015.

But if motor sales are excluded, there was an increase of 0.7% in retail sales in September when compared with August - and there was an increase of 8% in the annual figure.

The sectors with the largest month-on-month increases were non-specialised stores and fuel, while those with the largest decreases were furniture and lighting, food beverages & tobacco and bars.

There was a decrease of 0.1% in the value of retail sales last month when compared with August, and there was an increase of 4.9% when compared with September 2014.

Other CSO figures released show that trips to Ireland grew by 13.5% for the period of July to September.

The total number of trips to Ireland increased by 13.5% to 2,770,900 - an overall increase of 330,500 compared to the same period 12 months earlier.

Trips by residents of Great Britain increased by 13.9%, while trips by residents of other European countries were up by 14.6%.

Visits from North America to Ireland increased by 12.3%, while trips to Ireland from other areas grew by 10%.

And the total number of overseas trips made by Irish residents during the same period increased by 3.5% to 2,186,500.

It is hoped 10 million tourists will visit Ireland in the year 2020. Minister of State for Sport, Michael Ring, says this year is heading for the best year the tourism sector has ever seen: