Irish consumer confidence has taken a knock following the British public's decision to leave the EU, according to a new report from Bank of Ireland.

The bank's Economic Pulse index fell by 10 to 91.2 with business an consumer sentiment both going south - with the former falling at a faster rate.

Respondents from retail and construction firms showed that confidence in both contracted by close to 20%.

Companies in all sectors report that they are less likely to increase their head counts during the next three months - while most firms still expect to grow during the next three years.

Meanwhile, 38% of companies in industries and services plan to increase basic pay during the next 12 months, this number falls to 25% in construction and 25% in retail.

Consumers are less likely to slash out on big ticket purchases and there was an increase in the number of people who think that their financial situation will worsen.

Economic Pulse, Group Chief Economist with Bank of Ireland, Dr Loretta O’ Sullivan commented on the report:

"Brexit has generated a lot of uncertainty and, as expected, consumer and business confidence took a large hit in July. We will be closely monitoring the data to see if this is sustained over the coming months," she said.