The Central Statistics Office today published the first results of the 2009-2010 Household Budget Survey (HBS) which was undertaken between August 2009 and September 2010.

The main purpose of the HBS is to determine in detail the current pattern of household expenditure (e.g. average household spend on Food, Drink & Tobacco, Transport etc.) and this information is also used to update the weighting basis of the Consumer Price Index (which was published on 23 February 2012). Detailed information is also collected on household income and on a range of household facilities and appliances (e.g. dishwashers, televisions, internet access etc).

Surveys have been carried out periodically in Ireland since 1951 and the previous survey was undertaken in 2004-2005. In all 5,891 households participated in the 2009-2010 survey.