The Household Budget Survey is a survey of a representative random sample of all private households in the State. The main purpose of the HBS is to determine in detail the pattern of household expenditure in order to update the weighting basis of the Consumer Price Index. It gives an average weekly household expenditure. Information was collected from October 2022 to October 2023. The achieved sample size for HBS 2022-2023 was 1,737 households. The data collection process was carried out by a team of Field Interviewers. Each household that participated in the HBS completed a detailed household questionnaire and each household member aged 16 years and over completed a personal questionnaire. Data capture for both personal and household questionnaires was by means of CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing). All household members aged 16 and over were also required to fill in a paper diary over a two-week period, detailing their day-to-day personal expenditure over this period plus their regular outgoings such as utilities, television subscriptions, car insurance and direct debits.

Probability: Simple random. The HBS sample is a Stratified Simple Random Sample (SSRS). The sample is stratified by county and 10 equivalised income bands. Households were selected using probability proportional to size (PPS) of each strata.

Face-to-face interview: CAPI/CAMI

Self-administered questionnaire