Irish consumers want Budget 2023 to ease utility bills amid cost of living crisis

KBC survey says sentiment is little changed but that consumers hope next month's budget will help ease soaring costs

Many Irish economists have predicted that consumer price inflation here will peak at around 10%.

Consumers are nervous about paying their utility bills this winter, but are looking to the budget next month to ease the pain of soaring gas, electricity, and driving costs, Ireland’s leading sentiment survey has found.

The KBC Bank survey reported little change in consumer sentiment in July from June, despite the continuing flow of gloomy cost-of-living news, but the latest reading is nonetheless stuck at a late 2020 level, when households and businesses were still subject to strict Covid-19 restrictions.