Survey: 35% of parents use children's allowance as additional income

More than a third of parents in Ireland rely on their children's allowance as an additional source of income for their family, according to a survey released today.

A total of 40% of parents in receipt of the payment put it towards the cost of their children's education, hobbies and sport.

Some 15% use it as a source of savings for their children, and another 10% use the allowance to pay off debts.

The research also looked at how much of people’s income is being taken up by mortgage repayments.

On average, 37% of a person with a mortgage’s income is spent on mortgage repayments and this can be as high as 41% for the 35-44 age group.

Some 33% are spending more than €51 per month on their mortgage protection and 50% are unaware if their policy will allow them to switch mortgage insurance providers.

The research commissioned by Smartquotes was carried out by Amárach in November 2012 on behalf of Smartquotes.ie. A total sample of 1,000 was surveyed with a 49:51 male:female split.