Irish household savings rate rises to 15% in first three months with €8.3bn invested

Greater numbers of people working, and higher income on assets such as pension funds are 'driving up household income', CSO said

The average rate among eurozone countries is 15.3%.

The savings rate among Irish households increased to 15% during the first three months of the year, with €8.3bn being invested into bank deposits, property, and other assets, new data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows.

The savings rate has come down in the years since the pandemic, with the rate falling to 13% as of the end of 2023. The average rate among eurozone countries is 15.3%.

Statistician with the CSO Peter Culhane said the greater numbers of people working, and higher income on assets such as pension funds are “driving up household income”.

“Meanwhile consumption is also going up, albeit more slowly, due to higher volumes as well as higher prices,” he said.

The data was included in the institutional sector accounts for the period January to March.

The CSO also confirmed gross domestic product (GDP) during this period declined compared to last year, but this was mainly due to multinational non-financial corporations such as the pharmaceutical sector. Better measures of the domestic economy such as gross national income (GNI) were up.

Mr Culhane said the Government had a surplus of €521m during the start of the year, down from €665m last year.

Higher receipts of Vat-type taxes on products drove growth on the income side of the account, while on the expenditure side, social protection payments and final consumption were both significantly higher,” he said.