National newspaper titles collected €164.5 million in advertising revenues from their print and digital editions in 2015, up 5.5 per cent on the year before, figures from NewsBrands Ireland show.

This was the first annual increase since 2007.

Spending by advertising agencies rose 8 per cent to €98.4 million, while the other €66.1 million in revenues was generated from direct advertising such as property and recruitment. This portion was up slightly on the year before.

The overall growth rate accelerated in the second half, with a 3.6 per cent increase recorded for the first half compared to the same period in 2014.

"Newspapers in all formats drive the national agenda and provide unrivalled commentary and analysis," said NewsBrands Ireland chairman Vincent Crowley.

Mr Crowley, a former chief executive of Irish Independent publisher Independent News & Media, described the "significant" increase in advertising revenues in 2015 as "strong proof" that NewsBrands member titles created "an effective environment for advertising messages".

NewsBrands Ireland, previously known as the National Newspapers of Ireland (NNI) group, represents 16 Irish-published newspaper titles and their associated websites.

The media-buying agency that spent the most money booking ads with the titles in 2015 was Mediavest, which is part of the Core Media group.

The agency spent €14.3 million on advertising with NewsBrands Ireland, a €2.6 million increase on the previous year. Carat was second in the organisation’s “agency league table”, with spend of €7.9 million.

According to estimates from Core Media, the total Irish advertising market increased 7.8 per cent last year.