Record Christmas spending splurge

LATE shoppers and early sales are keeping checkouts busy as the country buys its way into another record Christmas spending splurge.

Despite the gloomy warnings from Budget Day earlier this month, spending has topped last year’s spectacular send-off to the punt.

The rate of increase in expenditure has slowed year-on-year after the hectic growth of the previous four or five years, but according to Dublin Chamber of Commerce communications manager Jerry Minihane, that was to be expected. “Something that impacted a lot on consumers was the Budget and the talk of downturn and cutbacks. It’s a psychological thing. If people have the impression that next year they will have less money, they’re inclined to hold back a bit.