According to a report released today by the Central Statistics Office, the gross savings of Irish households which stood at €10.7bn in 2010 decreased to €9.3bn in 2011.
This information is contained in Institutional Sector Accounts – Non-financial and Financial, 2011, which brings together comprehensive information on the economic activities of households, businesses – both financial and non-financial – and the government sector. The report also links relevant financial and non-financial information for each of the sectors.
Expressing household savings as a proportion of the gross disposable incomes of households the derived savings ratio fell from 12 per cent in 2010 to 10.7 per cent in 2011. The EU savings ratio fell during the same period from 11.7 per cent to 11.1 per cent.
Household savings continue to be used primarily to pay down debt in 2011 but also to fund the substantially lower levels of investment in property without recourse to borrowing.
Investment by companies in the non-financial sector fell from €7.2bn in 2010 to €6.7bn in 2011. Expressed as a percentage of the value added of the sector the derived investment rate has fallen from 9.2 per cent in 2010 to 8 per cent in 2011 reflecting the difficult trading environment. The profitability of the sector continued to improve increasing from €41.5bn in 2010 to €46.3bn in 2011, however, this is largely explained by the activities of multinational corporations operating in Ireland whose profits accrue to their foreign owners.
Balance sheets of financial corporations continue to decrease in size. This is particularly notable in relation to monetary financial institutions (i.e. mainly banks). The assets of the banking sector that peaked in 2008 at €1,864.5bn now stand at €1,468.5bn in 2011 and the corresponding liabilities have declined from €1,870.3bn to €1,469.3bn.
In 2011 capital transfers paid by government to the financial sector amounted to €5.8bn. The deficit on current government expenditure amounted to €10.3bn in 2011 and taken together with investment in the year of €4.2bn this explains the net borrowing of government of €20bn in 2011. The liabilities of government increased from €137.5bn in 2010 to €165.2bn in 2011 mainly to fund these items, as a result the debt/GDP ratio increased from 92 per cent in 2010 to 106 per cent in 2011.
To view and download the publication, visit the CSO website at: Institutional Sector Accounts Non-Financial and Financial 2011 (PDF 1,031KB)
The data tables contained in the present report as well as for earlier years can be downloaded from Database Direct on the CSO Website.
Non-Financial Accounts: Click here
Financial Accounts: Click here
National Accounts,
Central Statistics Office,
Ardee Road,
Dublin 6,
Phone: LoCall 1890 313 414
021 453 5000 / 01 498 4000
Website http://www.cso.ie/
E-mail Nat_Acc@cso.ie
Non-Financial Accounts: contact Michael Connolly (01 498 4006) or Mary Brew (01 498 4365)
Financial Accounts: contact Derek Stynes (01 498 4303) or Claire Hanley (01 498 4369)
Central Statistics Office 8 November 2012
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