People are putting more money into their household wealth through investments in property, pension funds and deposit accounts, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
Overall, the saving rate among Irish households rose in the third quarter of this year to 14.1 per cent, according to the CSO. This compares to a savings rate of 12.9 per cent in the second quarter of the year.
nvestment in houses or home improvements in the third quarter stood at €4.7 billion and the total added to pension funds was €1.1 billion. Data from the Central Bank show household deposits rose by €1.3 billion over the third quarter this year.
The latest seasonally adjusted total disposable income rose slightly, up from €43.4 million in the second quarter to €44.1 million in the third quarter.
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According to the CSO, there was not as big a change in overall spending in the country. This produced a higher savings rate. Seasonally adjusted household expenditure was largely unchanged, going from €37.8 million in the second quarter to €37.9 million in the third quarter.
Statistician in the national accounts analysis and globalisation division in the CSO Peter Culhane said “Taken collectively, our income in the three months was €44 billion, we spent €38 billion and we saved €6 billion. The addition to wealth takes the form of buying new homes, growing bank deposits, pension saving, and paying off debt”.
He acknowledged that the savings rate in the country has been hovering around the same level for the past two years. “Both incomes and consumption have been rising faster than inflation,” he said.
Before seasonal adjustment or inflation, Irish homes saved €7.7 billion in the third quarter of 2024.
There were large fluctuations in the household savings rate between 2019 and 2021 partly due to the Covid-19 lockdowns, however, this has stabilised since the beginning of 2022.
The unadjusted figure for household consumption in the third quarter of this year was €37 billion, up from €35 billion in the same period last year.
Household consumption was largely unchanged, dropping only 0.2 per cent in the third quarter of the year.
The CSO said that these estimates are subject to revision pending the release of data on financial assets and liabilities to be published by the Central Bank.
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