IRISH HOUSEHOLDS SAVED less in 2012 than they did in 2011, according to new figures released by the Central Statistics Office.

The latest figures show that last year, Irish households generated gross savings of €8.8 billion. This is down from €9.8 billion in 2011.

However, any savings people do have is being used to pay down debt. Savings were also used to fund the substantially lower levels of investment in property without recourse to borrowing.

Disposable income

Household saving is expressed as a proportion of gross disposable income of households.
The actual gross disposable income declined from €88 billion in 2011 to €87.1 billion in
2012.

Household debt in relation to income measures the sustainability of household debt.

This decreased marginally from 216 per cent in 2011 to 212 per cent in 2012.

Repayment of loans amounted to €7.3 billion. The paying of loans continued to be a major use of household saving last year.

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