Irish households saving less, spending more in bars and restaurants, new figures show

There was a significant increase in spending in bars (up 8%) during the festive season.

Irish households are saving less money than their EU counterparts, opting to spend more cash in bars and restaurants as 2024 drew to a close, new figures have shown.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) said households saved 13.8% of their disposable income in the fourth quarter of last year, a fall from 14.8% in the previous quarter.

Household saving rate fell to 13.8% in Q4 2024https://t.co/yJKExAJCsM#CSOIreland #Ireland #Households #HouseholdSaving #Savings #Income #IrishFamilies pic.twitter.com/GN57cl6mul

— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) March 14, 2025

“This is added to their wealth in the form of buying new homes, growing bank deposits, pension saving, and paying off debt,” CSO statistician Peter Culhane said.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, households saved €1.7bn, while investment in dwellings and improvements was €4.2bn. A further €1.1bn was also added to pension funds.

The significant amount saved by households in recent years has been cited by the banks as contributing to the higher deposits homebuyers in Ireland are paying, with the “bank of mam and dad” playing a role.

A recent survey from the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland showed one in 10 first-time buyers used a gift or inheritance to help them buy or build a home.

The CSO said while saving rose sharply during the covid-19 years of 2020 and 2021, the rate at which households in Ireland save has levelled off and is closer to pre-pandemic levels.

“But in Europe, the saving rate has settled at a higher level than before the pandemic,” Mr Culhane said.

“In 2018 and 2019, the two years before covid-19, the euro area rate was two percentage points lower (12.7%) than the 2024 rate (14.7%).

“However, in Ireland, the 13.8% average rate in 2024 was similar to the rate of the pre-pandemic years (13.5%)."

On the other side of the coin from saving, the CSO said household spending was up slightly in the final quarter of 2024, by 1.4%.

There was a significant increase in spending on accommodation and food (up 8%) and in bars (also up 8%) during the festive season.

“These large increases in consumption in bars and restaurants are in addition to the usual increases in activity before Christmas," it added. 

"They are also price adjusted, and show the volume of activity was up as well as price."