The amount of disposable income in the economy rose by 3.2 per cent last year in real terms, according to the 2002 National Accounts, published yesterday by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Total disposable income, a measure of the amount of money available to spend and save in the economy, was €104.2 billion last year. Of this, €60.1 billion was spent on goods and services by consumers, €17.6 billion was spent by central and local government and gross saving was €26.5 billion, after account is taken of depreciation.

The National Accounts are the annual snapshot of the economy published by the CSO and full details are now available on its website, www.cso.ie.

They confirm earlier estimates that gross national product (GNP) rose by just 0.1 per cent last year. But gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 6.9 per cent. GNP growth was lower because it excluded multinational profit repatriations, which rose sharply last year.

The CSO calculated that net national product, a measure of incomes, was €19,634 per head of population, or €45,744 per person at work. Agricultural incomes decreased by 5.7 per cent, while incomes outside the agricultural sector rose by 12.6 per cent.

Overall consumer spending rose by 2.7 per cent last year to just over €60 billion. Food, drink and tobacco remains the single biggest category of consumer spending, although it has fallen from 30 per cent of the total in 1995 to 23 per cent now. This would be normal in a society which is becoming wealthier.

Clothing and footwear spending has risen significantly from 6 per cent of total spending in 1995 to 11 per cent last year, while recreation spending has also risen significantly, even though it increased by only 0.9 per cent in real terms last year.

Reflecting greatly increased travel, expenditure outside the State by Irish residents has also soared, coming to almost €3.5 billion last year, more than double its 1995 level in real terms. Expenditure by non-residents in Ireland at €3.2 billion almost matches this figure.