Cost of living fears weighs heavily on Irish public as consumer sentiment dips

"Ddisappointing" softening in sentiment came despite lower retail fuel costs in July and a slight easing in inflation,

Concerns around the cost of living continue to weigh heavily with the latest Irish consumer sentiment survey falling slightly last month, despite lower fuel costs and easing inflation. 

Concerns around the cost of living continue to weigh heavily with the latest Irish consumer sentiment survey falling slightly last month, despite lower fuel costs and easing inflation. 

The Credit Union Consumer Sentiment Index for July showed a slip in Irish consumer sentiment at odds with confidence gains in the UK, the US, and the Euro area. The results suggest continuing concerns around pressures on living costs as well as an uncertain economic outlook weigh heavily on the Irish public.

The "disappointing" softening in sentiment came despite lower retail fuel costs in July, a slight easing in inflation, generally positive forecasts for the Irish economy, and exceptionally fine weather through the survey period.

“The July survey results are disappointing but not entirely surprising in that they highlight the continuing pressures Irish consumers face from rising living costs," said David Malone, chief executive of the Irish League of Credit Unions. "What stands out in this month's findings is that concerns about the cost of living continue to outweigh all other economic issues by a significant margin. Despite some positive economic developments in recent months, many consumers remain focused on the day-to-day realities of managing household budgets."

42% of consumers believe cost of living pressures the major concern for economy

The results suggest cost of living pressures are the most important factor in Irish consumer thinking and have become even more of a focus in the past year. Some 42% of consumers now signal this as the major concern facing the Irish economy, up from the 37% who gave this response in the 2025 survey.

A shortfall of housing was seen by 15% of consumers as the most pressing issue facing the Irish economy for the next couple of years.

Some 7% of respondents felt the economic impact of global conflicts was the most pressing issue facing the Irish economy while 4% said excessive Government spending. 

The researchers noted the July sentiment period saw a good deal of negative news on the outlook for jobs, with a further spate of layoff announcements including high-profile job losses at Aer Lingus, TikTok, and some Microsoft subsidiaries. "Various reports continued to emphasise AI-related threats to employment while official data showed a slight increase in unemployment in June and a marginal reduction in payroll employment in May."

The consumer sentiment survey showed a slight and statistically insignificant drop to 61.6 from 62.2 in June. The effectively unchanged reading in July follows gains in the two preceding months. This had reversed a sharp drop in sentiment between February and April that followed the outbreak of the war on Iran.

The July reading leaves the sentiment index below the long-term survey average of 83.2, "emphasising significant perceived difficulties in Irish households’ economic and financial circumstances at present", the researchers say. The July sentiment index at 61.6 is modestly higher than the 59.1 reading for July 2025 (when US tariff threats intensified

The Credit Union Consumer Sentiment Survey is carried out in partnership with Core Research.