More than 70 per cent of Irish adults are likely to avail of the new Government savings scheme introduced in the Finance Bill 2001, according to a survey commissioned by AIB.

Almost 70 per cent will be new savings rather than a redirection of existing savings into the special savings incentive accounts, the survey found.

More than 50 per cent of those who said they would join the Government savings scheme are not currently regular savers.

The survey also found that almost half of the adult population did not currently save on a regular basis.