9 months ago, there were very real fears that Ireland would be plunged into a recession amid soaring interest rates and energy costs. Both remain high but the Irish consumer appears to be a lot more resilient than we thought. According to MasterCard, people have spent more on experiences such as travel & entertainment than on apparel, jewellery, furniture, or electronics where sales have been contracting.

Natalia Lechmanova a senior economist at Mastercard explained their consumer spending findings.