The latest IIB Bank/ESRI consumer sentiment index shows a fall to 102.9 in February from 106.2 in January.
IIB economist Austin Hughes says the figures indicate that higher debt levels and rising interest rates could act as a restraining influence on spending power this year.
The survey shows that consumers are more downbeat about the outlook for household finances over the next year, though confidence about job prospects and the overall economic outlook improved slightly.
'It seems to us that the mood of the average consumer is not upbeat enough to suggest a runaway boom has begun,' says Hughes.
