Savings Accounts

The ECB rate is now just 0.05% – (January 2015) but you can still get interest rates around 2% on some deposit accounts in Ireland
For longer term fixed rates the National Savings offer good rates and the fact they they have little or no tax  on the interest helps too.

The interest rates on savings accounts in Ireland have been falling since 2012 as the banks try to make their balance sheets look better.
If the banks in Ireland were healthy – the deposit rates would probably be closer to 1% – but  Irish banks are still  in trouble, so we have seen higher rates for the last five years. In late 2008 it was possible to get a rate of 5% on a one year deposit.
As the banks gradually recover we expect to see interest rates on deposits falling close to 1%.

A tax on Deposit Interest is applied in Ireland – called DIRT – (Deposit Interest Retention Tax) it is currently 41% in 2015.

See Money Guide Ireland for lists of the best interest rates on deposit accounts – including Fixed Rates and Regular Savings accounts. The same site also has information on the best rates on credit cards, Mortgages and loans.

If you are worried about the future of the Euro currency – you might be interested in our page about Moving Euros into Sterling

Here is a list of banks and institutions that are based in Ireland or have branches in Ireland that still accept deposits from Irish residents.

Post Office (An Post).
Allied Irish Bank (AIB)
PTSB
Bank of Ireland
Credit Unions
KBC
Ulster Bank
Leeds Building Society
Nationwide UK Ireland
Rabobank
Investec Bank (UK) Ltd