Irish September retail sales were down 0.1 per cent on August's levels but the value of sales was up 9.8 per cent year-on-year, according to figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Sales volumes were 8.2 per cent higher in September than in the same month in 1997. But sales volumes rose by just 1.4 per cent in the period from July to September compared with the previous three months, the CSO said.