Mayo, Leitrim and Kerry saw the largest increase in spending in hardware stores last month. Adrian Moynihan, Head of Consumer at AIB, said: “The impact of Storm Éowyn was evident on the day it hit but also in the aftermath, with increased spend on hardware and decreased spend on utilities in some of the worst affected areas.” The biggest increase in spending in hardware stores was in Mayo and Leitrim at an increase of nearly a fifth in both counties (17pc) and an increase of 15pc in Kerry. Customers were also eager to return to socialising in February with spending in pubs up by almost a third (32pc) and spending in restaurants up 16pc. St Brigid’s Day, Saturday 1 February, was the busiest day for spending so far this year, drawing high numbers of punters into pubs. This was also the day of the highly anticipated Ireland versus England rugby match in the Aviva Stadium, Dublin. Mr Moynihan said: “It’s very welcome to see overall spending up 5pc in February and such strong spending across a number of sectors, particularly the hospitality sector which would have had a quiet January after the Christmas festivities. "Rugby fans enjoying Ireland’s Six Nations success provided a great boost to the industry, along with the bank holiday weekend at the start of the month. “It’s particularly heartening to see the significant increase in spend on EV charging over the last 12 months, up 83pc, as customers choose more sustainable modes of transport and we continue to transition to a low carbon economy.” The biggest increase in spending in pubs was in Cavan with an increase of over two-fifths, (42pc), and Monaghan and Wexford followed next with increases of 38pc and 37pc respectively. Cinema expenditure peaked for the year to date on Saturday, February 15, the day after Valentine’s Day and following the release of Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy. Card spending was up 5pc from January and 10pc from February 2024. The biggest increase in overall spending month-on-month was in Cavan (11pc) Roscommon (10pc) and Monaghan (9pc). The data was compiled from almost 67 million card transactions carried out by AIB customers in-store and online during February. This comes as the Central Statistics Office reports that prices in restaurants and hotels rose by 3.1pc mainly due to higher prices for alcoholic drinks consumed in licensed premises, restaurants and cafes. However, inflation eased to an annual rate of 1.8pc in February from a rate of 1.9pc in January.