Dublin people more optimistic about personal finances

There has been a major fall in financial confidence over the past few months for those living outside Dublin, whilst confidence amongst those living in the capital has remained static. According to research from Ipsos, compared to the first three months of 2008, the proportion thinking their personal circumstances will improve over the next year has fallen by 10% amongst those living outside Dublin (from 33% to 23%), whilst remaining broadly the same within Dublin (falling from 42% to 39%).

This drop in financial confidence may be driven by fears of redundancy, with 1 in 3 of those in full-time employment living outside Dublin concerned about the possibility of being made redundant, compared to 1 in 7 in the capital. "The recent slowdown, most notably in the construction and manufacturing sectors, seems to be having a more unsettling effect on those working outside Dublin", according to Kieran O'Leary of Ipsos. "Those working in Dublin, where there are a higher proportion of service sector jobs, seem to feel more secure".

At an overall national level, the proportion thinking that their personal circumstances will get worse over the next 12 months has doubled since the start of this year to 19%, and is now at the highest level since Ipsos began tracking consumer confidence 10 years ago. Furthermore, 7 in 10 people now think that the general economic condition of Ireland will worsen over the next 12 months.

"Up until a few months ago, people remained quite bullish about their own circumstances despite being pessimistic about the economy as a whole", according to O'Leary. "These latest figures indicate that people are starting to think that some of the economic trends may begin to start affecting them directly."

Technical details: Data for this report was taken from interviews conducted between April and June 2008 on Ipsos's continuous personal finance monitor which interviews 1,500 people aged 16+ in Republic of Ireland every quarter on all aspects of their personal finance. Interviews are conducted on a face-to-face basis. The survey has been running since 1999 permitting trend data on product ownership, usage and brand shares.

For further information on this report, or other aspects of Ipsos's service, please contact Kieran O'Leary on +353-1-632 6000 or [email protected]

Ipsos is the sum total of two successful research companies, Ipsos UK and MORI, which joined together in October 2005 to create the second largest research company in the UK. With a focus on Marketing, Advertising, Media, Loyalty, Social Research and Corporate Reputation, the company's 850+ staff offer a full range of quantitative and qualitative research services, as well as extensive international research capacity thanks to strong links with Ipsos companies around the globe. Working with hundreds of clients in both the private and public sectors, Ipsos embraces both traditional and innovative research methods.