UP TO 47 per cent of Irish adults have less than €100 to spend by the end of the month once bills are paid.And nearly two-thirds have less to spend than they did this time last year, the latest income tracking survey by the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) has claimed.
Some 28 per cent of homeowners said they could not afford to pay the household charge, while 45 per cent said they were struggling to cover the cost of keeping their cars on the road as a result of increases in motor tax and a dramatic rise in the price of fuel in the Republic.
According to the ILCU, 84 per cent of those surveyed who have less than 5 per cent of their disposable income to spend once essential bills are paid are worried about how they will cope if unforeseen expenses crop up, a slight increase on the December figure.
Those surveyed are particularly concerned about their ability to continue coping financially if further changes are made to social welfare or income tax.
The survey also found that 57 per cent of people struggling to pay their bills said they were living to work as opposed to working to live.
It is the first “What’s Left” tracker index published by the ILCU in 2012, and follows on from four similar surveys published last year. It records household expenditure, how much disposable income people have, where they are spending it and the financial hardships they are facing. It was conducted by market research company iReach in March and featured responses from 1,000 adults.
The survey found 45 per cent of motorists were “really struggling” with the increased cost of motoring, while 7 per cent were considering giving up or selling their car altogether. Two-thirds of motorists said they had put off servicing their car because they could not afford it. While 64 per cent said they would be open to using public transport instead, 47 per cent said public transport options in their area were poor.
Mortgage and rent are the most expensive bills for most Irish adults with 74 per cent ranking the expense as number one. Groceries were the second most expensive bill ahead of utilities.
The ILCU said 47 per cent of consumers are now struggling to pay all their bills on time, down from the 55 per cent recorded in December 2011. Consumers are most likely to defer payment of bills such as TV licence, bin charges and TV/telecoms.
It also found 42 per cent of households said they had no intention of paying the household charge, with almost one in three people homeowners saying they could not afford it. Some 8 per cent said they would wait until they were threatened with legal action before paying.
