Do you think the government has properly reacted to the downturn and has taken appropriate measures in time? Deloitte says it is a difficult task for governments to find favour with consumers in times of downturn: no government in Europe reaches the 50% satisfaction mark. ‒Only 8% of consumers in Ireland believe the government has reacted properly, this is the second lowest satisfaction rate in Europe. ‒Interestingly the survey shows that in the United Kingdom, where the government has decided to reduce VAT by 2.5%, only 5% of consumers state that they have decided to purchase more to make the most of this decrease. ‒In Western Europe, about 1 in 3 respondents are satisfied with the performance of their governments. Ireland stands apart from the pack, expressing a nearly complete lack of confidence in their leaders. Swiss consumers have the highest satisfaction rate.

Irish consumers will spend on average 22% less this Christmas according to the annual Deloitte consumer survey of Christmas spending. However, the Irish will still spend about double the level of the UK, Germany and France.

Ireland, which has traditionally been the biggest Christmas spender, falls to second place in the European spending table behind Luxembourg.

The survey, which was carried out in September and October, with a sample of 500 shows that the average spend per household in Ireland this festive season will be €1110. Of this, €660 will be spent on gifts, €265 will be spent on food, and €185 spent on socialising. This year Irish consumers advised that they would spend nearly 30% less on gifts, 6% less on food and nearly 22% less on socialising.

The UK consumer will spend €600; Germany's €485 and France's €650.

Annual Christmas Survey

Each consumer in the panel is identified through the following dimensions: Socio-demographic, personal interests and consumer behaviour. The survey was carried out in 18 countries.

Deloitte polled 17,567 in all to gauge their mindset and their planned holiday gift budget, in addition to food shopping for holiday meals and entertainment expenses.

When questioned on the economic outlook, Irish people remain pessimistic regarding the outlook. This is in contrast to the rest of Western Europe where pessimism is waning. In fact, in Ireland 86% of people still believe the economy is in recession with Irish women the most pessimistic of the sexes. Looking ahead into 2010, opinion is divided with 38% believing the economy will improve while the same percentage argue that it will deteriorate.

Deloitte says a statistic that won’t make easy reading for the current coalition government is that a whopping 93% of Irish people believe that the government has not reacted properly to the financial crisis or has not taken the appropriate measures to address the situation. However putting this in contrast, no other European government received a 50% satisfaction rating.

Other statistics from this year’s survey detail:

• 60% of people believe their personal financial situation has been impacted by the economic downturn.

• 40% feel secure about their employment compared with 45% last year (25% of respondents are not in employment).

• 5% believe their household’s financial position will deteriorate in the next 12 months.

Commenting on the figures, Susan Birrell, Consumer Business Partner, Deloitte said: “There can be little doubt that Christmas in Ireland has finally become a victim of the recession. It’s clear that a strong feeling of anxiety prevails, and is sharply constraining the propensity to consume. 74% of people have said that they have less to spend and 61% of Irish people will prepare a budget for their Christmas shopping this year. Of this 61% grouping 36% will be first time budgeters this Christmas. Irish consumers are likely to be extremely prudent in their spending this year – which is not likely to be welcome news to Ireland’s retailers.”