Dublin city centre had its busiest weekend since March last weekend, according to new data from the government.
It followed the reopening of gastro-pubs and restaurants last Friday, while restrictions on non-essential shops were lifted three days earlier.
The government's issuing a warning to shoppers ahead of the second last weekend before Christmas.
Shopping
Liz Canavan, from the Department of the Taoiseach, is urging people to avoid busy times when buying Christmas presents.
"Dublin city centre had its busiest weekend since March last weekend.
"2 to 3pm was the busiest time of the day, with 9 to 10 in the morning the quietest time.
"Traffic volumes around some of the big Dublin shopping centres saw a 40 per cent increase, with a similar pattern repeated with 8 to 11am being the quietest times."
