Women, lone parents, and the unemployed have lower levels of financial literacy than the rest of the population, a new report shows.
The report from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) tracks Ireland's financial wellbeing and financial literacy across demographics.
The findings suggest that factors such as educational level, employment status, gender, or household composition can significantly impact people's financial wellbeing.
No association was found between age and financial literacy, with older groups reporting similar levels of literacy when compared to younger groups.
The report states that higher financial literacy is strongly linked with increased financial wellbeing across all demographic groups.
However, Kevin O'Brien, Commission member with the CCPC, said it is not a silver bullet.
"It must be combined with other policy tools, such as consumer protection laws, social welfare payments and measures to assist vulnerable groups like lone parents, the low-paid, and unemployed people in bridging the financial wellbeing gap," he said.
"We are hopeful that the results of this report can guide policy makers towards the groups who would most benefit from additional resources," he added.
Mr O'Brien said he believes the publication of Ireland's first National Financial Literacy Strategy should be a priority for the next Government.
Today's report analyses financial literacy levels right across the world, with Ireland among the top countries.
According to the OECD data, Germany and Ireland report the highest scores in financial literacy, at 76 and 69.7, respectively.
However, the report states that Ireland has significantly lower disposable income per household than several of the countries it outranks in terms of financial literacy.
"Ireland scores higher on financial literacy than would be suggested by its level of disposable income," the report states.
