A survey which measures how consumers feel about the economic outlook has recorded its biggest monthly fall in more than 10 years.
The consumer sentiment survey, compiled by KBC Bank and the ESRI, fell to 49.2 in December from 60.1 in November.
The ESRI's David Duffy said the fall took the index back to where it was at the start of 2011. He said that although all areas of the index fell, the biggest drop was in consumers' expectations about the economy over the next 12 months.
KBC economist Austin Hughes said it was clear that Irish consumers were "very nervous" and remained gloomy about the outlook for the Irish economy and their own finances.
He blamed the December fall on the "frenzied" discussion about the future of the euro during the month and the measures announced in the Budget.
The economist said there had been two unusually large swings in the survey in recent months - including an unusually large rise in October. The economist said this probably reflected how uncertain Irish consumers were at the moment.
