Clare Bailey

We were delighted to welcome @CArchibald_SF, Minister for the Economy, to the Consumer Council this week for a positive and engaging festive visit. The Minister took the opportunity to meet with our Chair, @ClurBailey, Board, Chief Executive, @NoyonaC and staff, sharing an overview of her economic vision and taking a real interest in the work we do to protect, represent and empower consumers across Northern Ireland. The visit also provided space to reflect together on our work over the past year and to discuss priorities within our forthcoming corporate plan, particularly the importance of keeping consumer voices at the centre of policy and system change. The Minister spoke highly of our recent publications and research, and congratulated the team on their achievements and impact over the past year. #NIEconomy #ConsumerProtection @Economy_NI

📑 Consumer Council research identifies significant inequalities for rural communities regarding transport and food accessibility. With 36% of Northern Ireland's population living in rural areas, we wanted to understand the transport challenges consumers are facing when shopping for affordable, healthy and fresh food. 📢 Read the full report here ➡️ bit.ly/ruralroutestofoodrepo…

Last Thursday, we launched the latest Household Expenditure Tracker findings at our event at Stormont, marking three years of the Tracker. We held a panel discussion with representatives from the @jrf_uk, @WSN_NI and @AdviceNI. This discussion shed a light on what vulnerable consumers are currently experiencing. We were delighted to have the @Economy_NI Minister @CArchibald_SF, in attendance, who closed the event. For more info, visit: bit.ly/4qvAmUu

We recently launched our latest Household Expenditure Tracker for the period of April to June 2025, which outlines the income and expenditure of Northern Ireland’s households. The latest tracker revealed: 🟣 The lowest earning households have seen their discretionary income fall by 19% since Quarter 1 (January to March) 2021, leaving them with just £52 per week on average, after paying for basics. 🟣 For the lowest earning households, there has been a 5% fall in discretionary income, compared to the last quarter. 🟣 The highest earning households have nearly 14 times more discretionary income left to spend every week, on average, compared to the lowest earning households. Read the full story and view the full tracker results here: consumercouncil.org.uk/news/…

Yesterday, we held an event at Parliament Buildings, Stormont to mark three years since the launch of our Household Expenditure Tracker. This quarterly publication calculates the average income, expenditure and discretionary income of Northern Ireland households to give a measure of their financial well being. The publication particularly focuses on Northern Ireland’s lowest earning, most vulnerable households. During the event, we held a panel discussion with community and advice agencies who work with vulnerable consumers every day including the Joseph Rowntree Foundation @jrf_uk, Women's Support Network @WSN_NI and @AdviceNI . We also heard from the Chief Economist’s from the @Economy_NI and @GrantThorntonNI We were also delighted to have the Economy Minister @CArchibald_SF in attendance and who closed the event. Read the full story here: consumercouncil.org.uk/news/… Photo: Pictured at the Household Expenditure Tracker Event are L-R: Chair of the Consumer Council, Clare Bailey; Economy Minister, Dr Caoimhe Archibald and Consumer Council Chief Executive, Noyona Chundur.

Yesterday, we highlighted the vital role of consumers in Northern Ireland’s economy, during our Household Expenditure Tracker event held at Stormont. Launched in 2022, the Household Expenditure tracker is published quarterly, calculating the average income, expenditure and discretionary income of households, across Northern Ireland, to give a measure of their financial wellbeing. 🔗 Read about it here: bit.ly/4qvAmUu Watch our video to find out more about the event 👇 🏷️ @CArchibald_SF @Economy_NI @niexecutive @NoyonaC @ClurBailey @AdviceNI @WSN_NI @jrf_uk @GrantThorntonNI

📢We are holding free online sessions on how to maximise your money and get some financial first aid when you need it. 💻They will be held on Wednesday 22 October at 11am and Thursday 6 November at 7pm. ℹ️Visit bit.ly/47gjYPS for further information on joining.

Great to meet with @deptinfra Minister Liz Kimmins recently.

Our new research into young adults and food shows that over two in five consumers aged 18 to 30 were experiencing food insecurity. Further info - bit.ly/youngadultsfood Read the ‘Enough on their plates?’ full report - bit.ly/enoughontheirplates

Today we released our latest Pulse Survey. This quarterly research looks at the impact the cost of living crisis is having on consumers here and acts as a ‘temperature check’ of how people are coping. The latest survey found that two in five (40%) Northern Ireland consumers think they are worse off financially than last year. Read our latest #PulseSurvey report here: consumercouncil.org.uk/resea…

💡 Our appliance cost checker tool will help you estimate the running costs of your appliances and provide tips on how you can save money on your electricity bills and improve energy efficiency. 💷 You can use this calculator to get an estimate of how much electrical appliances cost to run per day, per week and per year and compare energy costs for different appliances. 📹 Click the video below to watch a how to guide on how to use our free appliance cost checker tool. 💻 You can use the free appliance cost checker tool by visiting: consumercouncil.org.uk/consu… #SaveEnergy #SaveMoney

We were delighted to welcome Economy Minister, Conor Murphy MLA, to the Consumer Council today. The Consumer Council plays an important role in supporting the Minister’s economic plans and our Board, led by Chair Clare Bailey, and our Executive Team, met with him and @Economy_NI colleagues to discuss how we work together to make this happen.