In Quarter 1 (Q1) 2026, the seasonally adjusted household saving rate was provisionally estimated to be 12.5%, or €1 in €8 of household disposable income.
This saving rate was up from a revised 11.7% in Q4 2025, and close to the average of 12.7% since the start of 2023.
After adjustments for seasonal patterns, Irish household disposable incomes (+2.0%) increased more than household consumption (+1.1%) from Q4 2025, leading to the higher saving rate.
Household saving was 12.5% in January, February, and March (Q1) 2026, compared with a revised 11.7% in Q4 2025 (current price seasonally adjusted). As Figure 1 shows, this is similar to the average level since the start of 2023. As the ratio depends on two larger aggregates (Total Disposable Income and Final Consumption Expenditure), it is liable to change each quarter.
Household saving can be added to wealth as real assets (such as new homes), or financial assets (such as deposits), or as paying off liabilities (such as mortgage debt). In Q1 2026, before adjusting for seasonality or inflation, households saved €6.6bn. Investment in dwellings and improvements (most of which was by households) was €5.5bn. Additions to pension funds (D.8) were almost €1bn. A revised and more detailed household saving estimate from the non-financial accounts will be published by the CSO in the coming weeks. A quarterly breakdown of changes in financial assets and liabilities will be published by the Central Bank.
In Q1 2026 households spending on goods and services was €41bn, a decrease of 4.5% on the fourth quarter of 2025, before price or seasonal adjustments. This decrease is largely due to additional household spending at Christmas. When seasonal factors are taken into account, final consumption of households increased by 1.1% in the first quarter of 2026. When the effect of price changes is also removed, the volume of consumption increased by 0.6%. The changes in consumption before and after price and seasonal adjustment are shown in Figure 2.
"Household Consumption" and "Individual Consumption Expenditure" in this release both mean Final Consumption Expenditure (FCE) of Households (code P.3 in the European System of Accounts). This is less than the item "Personal Consumption Expenditure" in the Quarterly National Accounts, which includes both FCE of households and Purchased Market Production funded by Social Transfers in Kind from Government (code D.632). Therefore, the changes in household Individual Consumption Expenditure in this release differ from those reported in the Quarterly National Accounts.
FCE at constant prices is deflated based on price changes for households resident here, including expenditure by Irish residents when they go abroad, but excluding expenditure by foreign tourists here in Ireland. This differs from the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which excludes expenditure by Irish residents abroad and includes expenditure of foreign tourists within Ireland.
Total Disposable Income (TDI) of households was €47.6bn in the quarter before adjustment. After adjustment for seasonal factors, this was 2% higher than the fourth quarter of 2025. After adjustment for price as well as seasonal factors, income was 1.6% higher than Q4 2025. The changes in TDI before and after price and seasonal adjustment are shown in Figure 3.
The largest component of household income is Compensation of Employees (CoE). In Q1 2026, unadjusted CoE contributed €43.4bn to the total TDI of €47.6bn. In addition to wages, TDI also includes other income such as self-employed earnings, interest and dividends received and social benefits (such as Child Benefit), but is after deduction of income taxes, social contributions (such as PRSI) and interest paid. More detail will be published in the Institutional Sector Accounts release next month.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (12 June 2026) published Household Saving Quarter 1 (Q1) 2026.
Commenting on the release, Mark Manto, Statistician in the National Accounts Analysis & Globalisation Division, said: "Households saved 12.5%, or €1 in €8 of their disposable income in January, February, and March (Q1) 2026, similar to the 12.7% average since the start of 2023. This was an increase on the 11.7% seasonally adjusted household saving rate of Q4 2025.
Saving can add to a household's overall wealth in the form of buying new homes, growing bank deposits, pension savings, and paying off debt.
The rise in the seasonally adjusted household saving rate from Q4 2025 was due to a greater increase in household disposable income than household final consumption.
Today's results are preliminary and are subject to revision after the publication of the Institutional Sector Accounts for Q1 2026 release in the coming weeks."