25.02.202601:13:55UTC+00Irish Consumer Sentiment Hits 11-Month High

Ireland’s Credit Union Consumer Sentiment Index rose to 65.2 in February 2026 from 64.7 in January, marking a fourth consecutive monthly increase and the highest reading since March 2025. Consumers’ views on current economic conditions improved slightly, and expectations for unemployment also showed a modest uptick. In contrast, respondents became more negative about their own household finances. Looking ahead, while the year-ahead outlook is still cautious, it is less pessimistic than in recent months. Economist Austin Hughes highlighted several supportive factors: stronger GDP data at the end of 2025, firmer exchequer returns, and confirmation that Novo Nordisk will manufacture its weight-loss pill in Ireland for markets outside the US. Nonetheless, Hughes warned that “the change was marginal and the balance of consumer thinking on the Irish economy remains strongly of the view that the Irish economy will weaken rather than strengthen in the year ahead.”