Figures from the Central Statistics Office show that households' income and savings fell in the third quarter of 2011 compared with the same period in 2010.
Despite this, the savings ratio - the percentage of disposable income put aside by households - remained unchanged from a year earlier at 17.3%.
The CSO said disposable income fell by 4% to €21.76 billion in the 12 months to the third quarter of 2011. Savings also fell by 3.9% to €3.86 billion.
Savings of non-financial businesses almost halved to €1.8 billion in the 12 months to the third quarter of 2011, mainly due to lower income from property.
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