The public's view of the economy and their own finances has improved in recent months but remains negative overall, according to the latest Reflecting Ireland survey from Permanent TSB.
The majority of consumers - 51% - felt worse off in May than the did a year earlier. However that is an improvement on the 63% who felt worse off in the survey taken in November.
A third of adults also said they expect to feel worse off in the future - compared to 47% in November.
Meanwhile 55% of respondents said Ireland was on the wrong track, down from 63% in July 2022.
Almost a third said the country was on the right track, compared to 24% a year ago.
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"People's mood in relation to the economy is continuing to improve albeit from relatively low levels, and relatively slowly," said Leonita Fannin, head of corporate affairs at Permanent TSB. "What we believe we're seeing here are some small, green shoots of optimism on the horizon.
"We do still have some way to go and there are some significant challenges for people across the country, and that's very reflective in the findings."
Two-fifths of adults expect things to improve in the coming months, compared to 11% in July of last year.
Less than half - 43% - think things will get worse, compared to 67% a year ago.
This may be, at least in part, due to people getting used to the challenges posed by high inflation.
"I think people have adapted to [the cost of living crisis] and they're managing it more effectively," Ms Fannin said.
This PTSB survey also included questions about news and media consumption.
Conducted in May, before the RTÉ payment scandal broke, the survey found that seven in 10 adults consume news every day.
Though, among younger adults, that falls to less than five in 10.
Television is the most common go-to for news, according to the survey, with 67% of adults citing it as their dominant source.
That compares to 53% for radio, and the same percentage for online.
"There's a lot of positive findings for traditional news platforms, with TV, radio and print being the most trusted sources for fair, balance and accurate news," Ms Fannin said. "For people in Ireland, trust is key, and trust in media sources is a priority.
"But there is a real difference in media consumption habits across generations."
Younger adults tend to turn to social media rather than TV, radio or print - with TikTok cited as the primary news source for people aged 18-24.
Despite that, trust levels in social media sources is low.
Just one in five adults trust Facebook and Twitter as news sources, while just one in seven trust TikTok, Snapchat or Reddit.
"Trust in social media sources, even amongst younger generations, is much lower than it is in more credible, traditional media sources," she said. "There is a significant increase in fact-checking - so even when younger cohorts may be getting their news and information from social media sites, they are going to traditional media channels to fact-check that information."
Traditional media performs far better, with 74% of adults trusting national radio, 72% trusting television and 69% trusting print.
But many adults also reported experiencing negative emotions when consuming news, with 30% saying the consumed less news in recent years due to this.
"Overall our consumption of news can negative influence our emotional state, particularly amongst women, we found," said Ms Fannin. "That can impact in a disengagement in media."
A third of adults also said social media in general was having a negative effect on their wellbeing, compared to just 22% citing it as a positive influence.
