Irish savers are earning the lowest return on their deposits across 18 European countries, new figures from the European Central Bank show.

In Ireland, the average rate on new fixed rate household deposits in March 2016 was just 0.18 per cent - the lowest of 18 European countries surveyed. This is far below the 1.69 per cent Dutch savers are enjoying on their fixed rate deposits, or the 1.4 per cent on offer in France and 1.14 per cent in Italy.

Joining Ireland at the bottom of the heap are Lithuania (0.2%); Spain (0.29%) and Luxembourg (0.34 per cent).

Some of the better fixed rates on offer In Ireland come from KBC (1% over 18 months) or Rabodirect (1% instant access). At the other end of the scale however, Irish demand deposit rates have slumped, with both Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB now offering just 0.01 per cent.

Irish savers can boost their returns by looking to the pan-European market, which is slowly opening up thanks to the efforts of onine platforms such as Raisin. com and Zins Pilot.

Raisin, which now accepts deposits from Irish savers, said earlier this week that it has brokered more than €1 billion in deposits since first launching in Germany some two years ago. Irish savers can earn up to 1.6 per cent on a one-year fixed rate with Poland’s Alior Bank via the portal.

Mortgage rates remain stubbornly high

At the same time as deposit rates are plummeting, Irish homeowners continue to pay over the odds on their mortgages, with figures suggesting that the differential is of the order of 2 per cent, although rates have been on a downward trajectory.

This means that Irish banks are lending money at a considerably higher rate than they are paying out on deposit.