Interest rates on Savings Accounts in Ireland gradually fell lower and lower over the last few years. Many instant access deposit accounts now pay zero or a tiny 0.05% rate of interest. On a deposit of €50,000 that would make just €25 a year in interest – before tax.
The ECB started raising interest rates again in 2022 as inflation began to increase. These rate rises should mean higher interest rates for savers – but the Irish banks don’t seem to be in a hurry to pass them on
If you have money sitting in a savings account paying just 0.01 % – you could get interest rates that are 255 times bigger elsewhere.
For example – a rate of 2.55% is available at Raisin.ie (fixed for a year) . On €50,000 – that rate would earn €1275 a year before tax instead of just €5 .
On our page of the Best Savings Rates in Ireland – you will see that the best available easy access interest rate on deposits in the banks is just 0.05% . (Nov 2022) . This is a pretty poor rate of interest.
If you are willing to lock your money away for a few years you can get slightly better rates.
The best interest rate available over 5 years is 3.15% AER from French bank Younited # via Raisin.ie
If you fix for 3 Years you can get 3.05% – also at Younited via Raisin.ie (Covered by French banking guarantee)
Over five years – the 5 year National Savings certificate pays 0.59% Tax-Free
Or you could go for the 10 year Solidarity Bond which pays 0.96% after taxes.
If you save smaller amounts regularly – you can get interest rates of up to 0.63% – see details here.
See more of our Money Saving Tips.
If you are interested in the possibility of investing some money in stocks and shares – take a look at our page comparing various online stockbrokers in Ireland.
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