Irish people are increasingly turning to high-risk investments such as cryptocurrency because they cannot afford to get on the property ladder, new research shows.

The Central Bank found “an increasing preference for households to save in riskier financial assets and private pensions”.

Its report into savings trends said: “The savings rate is projected to remain high with the share of wealth held in financial assets likely to grow as housing constraints limit the ability to invest in these real assets.”

Many are investing more in risky financial investments including crypto in part because they cannot use the money to buy homes.

Since 2023, 80% of households in Ireland can afford to save, with average weekly income out - stripping their spending, the research revealed.

It also found that while housing investment dominated over recent years, “this is waning slightly”.

“For instance, flows into other financial assets showed notable growth in particular, reaching nearly one in every five euro of household investments over 2020-2024, a period in which household investment flows returned to levels not seen since the early 2000s,” it noted.

“Nevertheless, Irish households retain a strong preference for highly liquid assets, with close to one in every four euro saved going to cash and deposits.”

As the population ages, people are saving more into “private pension wealth than was the case previously”, the report added.