Crisis alert as austerity hits savings

Deepening austerity measures are pushing households into a “live for now” culture, causing shrinking savings and risks triggering a fresh personal finances crisis.

CSO figures show two in five people in Ireland have no savings in their accounts.

The details, available at irishexaminer.com, show one in four people have used “some or all” of their savings on basic goods such as food shopping or to pay off bills, while 8% have used savings to pay off loans.