Irish people are still saving, with a strong increase in those aged 35-44 who now have a savings account, according to KBC Bank Ireland's Quarterly Savings Barometer published today.

It found that 78pc of 1,000 people surveyed across Ireland in May had a savings account, a slight decrease on the Q1 Savings Barometer (79pc). However, 79pc of those aged 35 - 44 had a savings account, compared to 75pc in Q1.

"The positive trend is that people are still saving and are trying to manage their finances so that they have some fallback for an unexpected event. The commitment to savings remains strong and 49pc are planning to increase their savings in the next year", said Dara Deering, Executive Director, Head of Retail Banking, KBC Bank Ireland.

Of those who have a savings account, saving for a rainy day at 26pc remains the most important reason for saving. 21pc of savers are saving for a particular item such as a car, house, children's education or holidays while 14pc say that 'uncertainty about the future' is their reason for saving.

The majority of respondents (34pc) dip into their savings 2 -3 times a year, while 20pc of respondents dipped into their savings more than 5 times in the last year.

"The latest KBC Savings Barometer shows people are dipping into their savings more regularly but they also want to be able to top up again when they have some extra cash.

The top three features sought by savers are the ability to access funds, the interest rate offered and the ability to add additional funds to the account. We're now launching a new Top-Up deposit account this week with all these features to give savers greater freedom in how they manage their savings," she said.

"With a very competitive 4.1pc AER/Gross deposit rate over 12 months, as well as the flexibility to lodge or withdraw up to 25pc of funds during the term, our innovative Top-Up deposit account will be very attractive to savers," she added.