The household savings rate, which tracks not only saved funds but all income not gobbled up by consumption, fell to 12.4pc, or €1 in €8, of household disposable income in the last three months of 2025.
That was down on the previous three months and below the average for recent years – 13pc – but still high by historic standards. For the year as a whole, the CSO estimates the 2025 saving rate was 13.6pc, similar to 2024 and higher than 2023 – closer to €1 in every €7.
Patterns of spending and saving can be eratic, especially at the end of the year, which includes Christmas but can also include bonuses for employees.
After adjustments for seasonal patterns, Irish household consumption increased by 2pc in the last three months of 2025 while incomes were flat (-0.1pc).
The CSO says household savings – or unspent money – can add to household’s overall wealth in the form of buying new homes, growing bank deposits, pension savings, and paying off debt, so the tally isn’t just a count of money on deposit in banks, which has become a focus for policy makers in the past months.
In the last three months of 2025 households saved €2.5bn, investment in dwellings and improvements added up to €6.25bn and almost €1bn was added to pension funds, the CSO data shows.
That compares to households spending on goods and services which was €42.9bn, up 2pc on the same period in 2025, though that was partly a result of higher prices.
The household savings rate spiked during Covid to nearly a third of incomes but has since reverted to pre-pandemic norms. The build up of savings has been maintained since, however, providing a potential cushion in the event of any economic slowdown, including the emerging risk of an energy shock as a result of the war in Iran.
Finance Minister Simon Harris has promised a Savings and Investment Account to help middle-income savers invest more, including into domestic businesses, to potentially generate better returns on the large share of household wealth that is parked in banks, much of it earning interest rates of close to nothing.
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