Irish people slightly more upbeat about future - PTSB

The number of people who believe the worst of the cost of living crisis is over has climbed slightly in recent months – although, the optimists are significantly outnumbered by those who believe things are going in the wrong direction, according to new research.

The Reflecting Ireland survey from Permanent TSB also points to the scale of the housing crisis, with two thirds of would-be homeowners telling researchers the prospect of buying is increasingly remote.

The quarterly research series explores attitudes to the economy and key issues of public interest and was carried out by Core Research among 1,000 adults, last month.

It highlights public concern about the economy but the numbers expressing optimism have increased across a number of key areas. There was a rise of 6 per cent in the number who believe the economic situation will improve this year with the percentage now put at 17 per cent. However, 49 per cent said the economic situation will deteriorate, compared with the even more gloomy 63 per cent researchers recorded in November.

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There was a rise of 4 per cent to 15 per cent in the number who believe they are better off now than 12 months ago while the percentage who said they were worse off fell to 56 per cent from 63 per cent. Looking ahead, 22 per cent said that they expect to be better off in 12 months, compared with 18 per cent last year.

When asked if the country was on the right track, 60 per cent said Ireland was “off-course” with 28 per cent saying the country was “on-the-right-track”. This compares to 62 per cent and 25 per cent respectively in the November survey.

“There is a subtle but significant shift in opinion from November, which suggests that more people think the worst of the cost-of-living crisis is behind us,” said PTSB’s head of corporate affairs Leontia Fannin. “It will be interesting to see whether that more optimistic mood continues or is paused in the coming months.”

Just over half of all respondents said home ownership has become more important to them in recent years, rising to 69 per cent among 25-34 year olds, the age group most likely to be looking for a new home.

Among the 16 per cent of the general public who are looking to buy, 57 per cent are first time buyers, 22 per cent are trading up, 13 per cent are trading down and 4 per cent want to buy a property to rent it out.

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While 81 per cent of those who don’t own a home said it was important to do so in the future, two thirds said the prospect has become less achievable in recent years with financing and supply identified as the key issues.

A further 72 per cent said the way they spend their free time has changed since the pandemic, with half saying they socialise less now with costs and habits identified as the factors behind the changes.

Some positive lifestyle choices have become easier to make since the pandemic, with 43 per cent saying it has become easier to exercise and 41 per cent saying cooking more from scratch is now more often on the table.

All told, 36 per cent of workers say they can work remotely (either full time or hybrid) while 62 per cent, with one third of those who took part, saying that they believed working from home regularly could negatively impact on their chances of promotion.

Behavioural Scientist, Claire Cogan of BehaviourWise said the research suggested “many have made positive changes to their lifestyles [but] half of us are socialising less than before. It will be interesting to see if this pattern changes as we head towards the summer.”