HOUSEHOLDS ARE SPENDING more of their budgets on housing than on food, for the first time ever, according to figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The Household Budget Survey (HBS) showed families are spending 6.2 per cent more on housing than in 2005. However the figures also revealed that households are spending just 16 per cent of their weekly budget on food, a decline of 1.9 per cent on five years earlier.
This survey was the first HBS where the reported proportion of total household expenditure for housing exceeded spending on food.
Average weekly expenditure in 2009-2010 for all households was €810.61, just 3 per cent higher than the figure recorded five years earlier.
The report also showed spending on transport fell by just over 5 per cent from €122.74 per week in 2004-2005 to €116.31 five years later which the CSO said was due to a decrease in expenditure on car purchases.
Alcoholic drink and tobacco expenditure decreased by 16.3 per cent with some 41 per cent of total expenditure on alcohol related to drinks consumed at home.
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