Despite the increased levels of cash in teenagers' pockets, there are growing fears that young people may be following the national trend of embracing being in debt.

We would have concern about the debt students are getting into, " said Caroline McHale, president of the Business Studies Teachers' Association of Ireland. Some probably are building up debts without realising it themselves. Our objective would be to inform and prevent rather than waiting to try to come up with a cure afterwards."

With more disposable cash than previous generations of teenagers, there is a huge responsibility to teach "nancial literacy and responsibility, according to McHale. The current second-level business studies course is designed to teach them the benefits of budgeting, making ends meet and achieving "nancial goals.

?Budgeting is a de"nite question on the exam, " she said. ?And it is quite realistic. For example, they compare the costs of a home cooked meal versus the takeaway versus going to the restaurant. It empowers students to think for themselves."

It is also helps to ensure children are more astute in their purchases.

The idea is to get them to be more thrifty and to compare prices and not just pick the first mobile phone they come across, to compare rates. They have a huge disposable income at the moment but they need to think about the future as well. We have concerns that they are spending a huge amount of money but then they are earning a huge amount of money as well and they are more aware of what is happening out there."

The SSIAs not only caught the imagination of those over 18 who were eligible to open one, they have also attracted the attention of many school children, said McHale. While the coming months may see the money being spent on everything from home extensions to new cars, it may also have fostered a savings ethos in a much younger generation.

With the SSIAs students are beginning to see that if their parents started saving a fixed amount of money, the huge lump sum that can be achieved after five years. They are beginning to think about saving. Prior to this it was just work part-time and spend to facilitate their social scene. But if they want to be wealthy in the future and accumulate wealth, they realise they need to save more so than spending all that comes in."

She added that continued participation by the Irish Bankers Federation and the financial regulator in the schools' syllabus is necessary to ensure the children of today are the "nancially competent adults of tomorrow.