The most recent Your Dublin, Your Voice survey asked citizens how they are managing to get by at the moment. How do they feel about their personal financial situation and how confident are they in economic recovery? What level of interest is there among people in starting a business? And what issues do people intend to raise with local election candidates on the doorsteps?

Carried out in December 2013 some 1,417 people responded to the latest Your Dublin, Your Voice survey, Getting on in Dublin. Although 92% of respondents were Irish, 37 other nationalities completed the survey.

YDYV found that while some 55% of respondents felt more confident about the state of the Irish economy compared to one year ago, a similar proportion (53%) actually indicated that they personally were, in fact, worse off financially than last year. Furthermore over one third of respondents expected to be worse off next year. Financial pressure was the biggest worry for 42% of respondents, followed by work / job security (17%) and health (13%). Half of people had family or friends who had to emigrate in the last 4 years because they could not find suitable employment

The top four topics people wished to discuss with local election candidates were employment, the national economy, public transport and water. A further 176 respondents mentioned accountability of public servants and representatives and political reform as issues to raise with local election candidates.

Women, people aged 46 – 65 and those with dependent children feeling less confident and more worried; younger age groups feeling brighter about the future.

Those aged 46 – 65 and those with dependent children felt that their personal financial situation was worse than one year previously with 46 – 65 year olds most likely to describe themselves as feeling ‘angry’ about the state of the Irish economy
18 – 30 year olds were most likely to feel ‘hopeful’ about the economy and to anticipate better personal financial health in one year’s time.

Just under half of all respondents indicated that the recession had had a major negative impact on their finances – one from which they had not yet recovered. Again this was especially true for those aged 46 – 65 years and those with dependent children.

A majority (85%) worry a bit or a lot about their household finances, with more women than men and more people with dependent children than more likely to indicate that they worry a lot.

Some 63% of respondents rated their children’s quality of life as better than their own when they were a child

However, mothers are more likely than fathers to feel that their children’s quality of life is not as good as theirs was as a child and women feel that their own quality of life is worse than that of their parents at the same age.

Men were more likely than women to consider starting up a new business, as were those aged 18 – 30 and those without dependent children.

36% of respondents indicated that they relied on family or friends to meet some day to day living needs with women and people with dependent children more likely to do so.

48% of YDYV respondents indicated that they provided regular financial or in-kind assistance to family or friends in a vulnerable financial situation; those over age 65 were more likely to be providing this kind of assistance to others.

Just 18% of respondents indicated that they would consider setting up a new business in the next 1 – 2 years. This proportion was higher among men, those aged 18 – 30 years and people who did not have dependent children.