Irish rugby fans contributed to a spending spike in France when they attended Ireland’s matches in Bordeaux, Nantes and Paris in September.

The latest Bank of Ireland Spending Pulse shows Irish consumer spending in France jumped 9%.

Despite Ireland’s matches at the Rugby World Cup becoming appointment viewing, with the clash against the Springboks on September 23rd drawing the largest TV audience of the year so far, monthly pub spending was down 19% in total, with outlay in restaurants falling by 17% and in fast-food outlets by 14%.

“Ireland’s victories at the Rugby World Cup didn’t produce a social spending boost at home, even if card outlay rose in France as the competition progressed,” said Jilly Clarkin, Head of Customer Journeys & SME Markets at Bank of Ireland.

“Perhaps the ever-growing number of fans supporting Andy Farrell’s side are biding their time until the knockout stages begin, which could see October’s spending rise dramatically if Ireland can reach the final in Paris at the end of this month.”

Bank of Ireland debit and credit card spending last month fell by a total of 8% when compared to the previous month’s outlay, maintaining a trend which has seen September spending fall back by between 6% and 8% throughout 2021, 2022 and 2023.

The index recorded drops in both social spending (-14%) and in the Retail sector (-7%), as consumers tightened their belts as ‘back to school’ mode kicked back in.

The regional domestic breakdown was gloomy also, with spending drops of 9% recorded in Donegal, Kildare, Laois, Louth, Mayo and Meath.

Apart from France, spending by Irish consumers abroad fell, with Greece (-23%), Portugal (-18%), Spain (-13%) and Germany (-11%) all dipping.

Spending amongst the different age groups also plunged in September, with teenagers (-20%) bucking a recent trend where they led the way in the spending stakes.

Spending amongst 18 to 25-year-olds fell by 6% as they marked their return to colleges and training courses, the 36 to 45 cohort tightened their belts considerably by posting a 9% drop and outlay amongst 36 to 45-year-olds fell by 10%.

“With memories of the summer holidays receding it was not surprising to see spending decline in certain areas, with travel impacted in particular,” Ms Clarkin said.

“Car rental outlay fell by 30%, accommodation spend dropped by 21%, bus travel by 14%, and toll fees by 6%, as many people fell back into their regular routines close to home.”