Financial Capability and Well-being in Ireland


This research is the first financial well-being study conducted in Ireland. It examines the behaviours and circumstances that influence financial decision making and well-being, the extent to which Irish people are able to meet all of their current financial needs comfortably and their financial resilience for the future.

Summary findings:
  • People in Ireland are faring well in terms of general financial well-being, with an average score of 64 out of 100.
  • In terms of international comparisons, the overall score for Ireland is lower than Norway (77) but higher than Australia and New Zealand (both 59) and on a par with Canada, where the overall score was 65.
  • Most people have the means to cover day to day costs and current commitments. However, financial well-being is also the ability to have financial comfort now and into the future.
  • A significant number of people have little financial resilience beyond meeting current commitments and that 52% of people are meeting current financial commitments, but have little provision against financial shocks.
  • As a whole, people in Ireland are doing reasonably well in terms of general financial well-being but they have low levels of resilience for the future, including in retirement.

The full technical report is available here and the data sets are available here.

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