Irish consumer sentiment fell back in November from a six year high in the previous month as hard-hit taxpayers determined how another austerity Budget would hit their wallets.<p>
The KBC Bank Ireland/ESRI Consumer Sentiment Index slipped to 71.0 from 76.2 in October when it reached its highest level since June 2007, the year before a property bubble began to burst and a deep economic crisis took hold.<p>
The November reading was nonetheless the third highest since Ireland signed up to its €85bn EU/IMF bailout, well above a record low of 39.6 hit in July 2008 but below the 17-year old survey’s historic average in the mid-80s.<p>
The sub-index measuring the public’s sentiment on jobs also turned positive for the first time in nine years and comes after data last week showed that unemployment fell at its fastest pace in four years.<p>
<B>The survey was taken after consumers had time to digest Finance Minister Michael Noonan’s latest Budget which comprises €2.5bn in tax increases and spending cuts, less than the €3.1bn originally planned.
<p><h5>Alan McQuaid</h5>
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