Big drop in consumer confidence

CONSUMER confidence plunged last month with experts saying the Government must make clear the extent of pain that is on the way.

The KBC Ireland/ESRI consumer sentiment index plunged to 52.4 in September compared with 61.4 in August and 49.6 in September last year.

KBC chief economist Austin Hughes said the sharp fall in September isn’t surprising but underlines the extent to which consumers see recent events as “fundamentally altering the outlook for economic activity, employment and incomes”.