Irish households are the wealthiest they have ever been – at least on paper, according to the latest data from the Central Bank of Ireland. Quarterly financial accounts from the bank show that the total net worth of Irish households stood at €800 billion at the end of last September. This equates to an average net worth per person of €162,577, the bank says, taking into account property and financial assets. The €162,577 refers to a mean average, however, which may be considered a flawed measure of average wealth as it is susceptible to distortion by extremes at either end of the wealth spectrum. According to the Central Bank’s data, Irish households became an average of 2.5 per cent richer over the three-month period to the end of September.

Source: The Irish Times February 07, 2020 16:30 UTC