Irish income inequality

In Ireland new research published today shows the gap between rich and poor has widened significantly since 1987. The wealthiest ten per cent of Irish people have seen their riches grow by a greater factor than anyone else’s since 1987, according to a new report published by Social Justice Ireland today.The research reveals that the top 10 per cent of Irish households receive almost a quarter of total disposable income, up 1.3 per cent since 1987. In comparison, the bottom 10 per cent of households receive just 2.2 per cent of all disposable income, almost 11 times less than that of those in the richest households. The distribution of Ireland’s riches was so unequal, the report added, that the share enjoyed by the richer families – 24.48 per cent – was almost as much as the amount earned by the poorest 50 per cent of homes.

620,000 people, equivalent to 14.1 per cent of the population, almost one in every seven people, are at risk of poverty and says this figure would be much higher if it wasn't for social welfare payments. The group claims that without the welfare system, Ireland's poverty rate in 2009 would have been 46.2 per cent.

Over 140,000 people are now long-term unemployed - the highest since the late 1980s.

The minimum disposable income ( Disposable income is the amount of money households have to spend after they have received employment/pension income, paid all their taxes and received any welfare entitlements) required to avoid poverty in 2001, according to Social Justice Ireland, is €228.18 per week for a household with just one adult, equivalent to €11,585 on an annual basis. For a household containing two adults and two children the minimum disposable income needed is €515.46 per week, equivalent to €26,877 annually.