Consumer outlook is at its highest level since the start of the recession.
A new Red C Credit Tracking report shows that 1-in-3 people feel the Irish economy will improve over the next 6 months.
According to the research the outlook for the world economy has also improved but there is no major improvement in the outlooks for the housing or job markets.
Almost 40% of consumers also feel that the recession has had a high impact on them in the past 3 months, which is having a knock-on effect on spending in the economy.
Customers holding back spending
But it also warns that consumers are still reluctant to increase spending, especially on socialising and consumer goods while there an intention to spend slightly more groceries and holidays.
It says that - as a nation - we remain as happy as we were a year ago.
It believes good news is needed to kick-start both consumer spending and the housing market but there is a general
sense of optimism and increased job security.
It says our good outlook is possibly due to an expected deal on bank debt and says that achieving this deal is critical in terms of maintaining consumer optimism.
