The disposable income of rural households is rising at a faster rate than that of urban households, but city-dwellers still have more money free to spend each week, according to a new household budget survey by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The average weekly disposable income for rural households soared almost 62 per cent over the five years to 2004-2005, when the survey was conducted.
In comparison, disposable income in urban households rose just 49 per cent, while average disposable incomes across the State increased 53 per cent during the period.
But urban households still have more cash to spend, with €872 free to spend each week - higher than the State average of €842.
Households in urban areas were found to spend more each week than their rural counterparts, at €821 per week compared with weekly spending of €735 by rural households.
The average weekly sum spent by all households was €788, up 36 per cent on the 1999-2000 survey, when average weekly spending came to €578 a week.
The 2004-2005 household budget survey also reveals a rural-urban divide in spending patterns.
Urban consumers spent more on services, housing and alcoholic drink and tobacco than their rural counterparts, who spent proportionately more on food, transport, fuel and light and household durables.
Urban households spent €110 a week on housing - which includes mortgage interest, rent, service charges and repair and maintenance costs - compared with weekly housing expenditure of €69 among rural households.
However, rural households spent twice as much on central heating oil, which the CSO attributed to urban households having greater access to gas, and rural households, particularly farms, being larger in size.
Households spent an average of €1,727 on holidays in 2004-2005, which was 46 per cent higher than the €1,184 recorded five years earlier. Urban householders were more likely to travel, spending €2,123 compared with holiday spending of €1,085 by rural householders. Spending on alcohol and tobacco came to €52 a week among the urban households surveyed, while rural households spent €40 a week. People in urban areas spent twice as much on wine as rural householders.
However, the CSO has cautioned that spending on alcohol and wine is consistently under-reported by the people who are asked to keep spending diaries for the survey.
"People say they had two pints and two cigarettes rather than 12 pints and 40 cigarettes," said the CSO's Kevin McCormack.
The survey also shows that the proportion of income earned by farm households from non-farming activities increased over the five years.
As a result, the contribution of farming to the direct income of farm households declined from 44 per cent to 38 per cent.
Spending on food rose 21 per cent, while clothing and footwear spending increased by the same percentage.
The lowest increase in expenditure was found in the alcoholic drink and tobacco category, at just 7 per cent.
Although households spent 36 per cent more on goods and services in 2004-2005 than they did in 1999-2000, prices increased almost 16 per cent over this period. This meant there was a real increase of about 21 per cent in the amount of average household consumption.
