41% sacrifice food to pay for light and heat: Credit unions survey

A new survey by the Irish League of Credit Unions has found that 1.6 million people have €50 or less to live on every month after their bills are paid.

The 'What's Left' tracker says that number is an increase of 230,000 people since October.

The number of employed people with €50 or less to live on went up by 35% among working adults, while up to 70% of people said they were unable to save money.

Up to 70% are unable to save money and 40% scrimp on other household items, primarily food, in order to pay energy bills.

Some 56% of the adult population believe that the worst is yet to come in terms of financial hardship this year, the survey found.

Spokesperson for the ILCU Mandy Johnston said people were getting better at budgeting, but were still struggling to keep on top of their bills.

"Nine out of 10 people are saying that they have been impacted significantly by rising energy costs," she said.

"Forty-one percent of those people have sacrificed things like grocery shopping in an effort to keep on top of paying for their light and heat."

- irishexaminer.com