IRISH CONSUMERS remain very cautious about their spending, according to statistics compiled by Nationwide UK (Ireland) building society and the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).

Some 85 per cent of consumers said they would either save any excess cash they had or use it to pay off their mortgages and other loans.

Just 11 per cent said they would spend any additional cash they had, down from 13 per cent in April, when the survey was launched.

The results also show a low willingness to save in the economy, with just one in four saying “now is a good time to save”.

Managing director of the building society, Brendan Synnott, said low interest rates were dampening demand for deposits. The “situation was not conducive to saving”, he said.

The European Central Bank has held interest rates at a record low of 1 per cent for 15 consecutive months.

The results of the survey also show that there is a gap between the number of people who save regularly (40 per cent) and those that say this is important (69 per cent).

Mr Synnott said he thought there was a split along age lines, where those over 45 were “saving no end”, while younger people were trying to pay off debt. Consumers were “not comfortable with debt levels, and people are acting to rectify this”.

Nearly half of respondents said Government policy was not encouraging them to save, while just 10 per cent said it did.

The research was compiled using 8,000 consumers across the country over 15 years of age.

Some 9 per cent of respondents said it was not important to save money, up from 5 per cent a month earlier.