Dubliners have the highest disposable incomes, CSO says

The Dublin region had the highest average disposable income per person in the State in 2014, figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show.

On a per person basis, the average disposal income in Dublin in 2014 was €21,963, compared with a nationwide average of €19,178.

Limerick had the second highest average at €20,395, ahead of Co Kildare at €19,385 and Cork at €19,234.

Co Longford was the only county where disposable incomes fell in 2014, while Co Waterford saw the biggest percentage gain.

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Disposable income is defined as primary income plus social welfare payments minus taxes and social insurance contributions.

The results are contained in figures released by the CSO for the year 2014.

They also show that the wealth gap between the richest region in Ireland, Dublin, and the poorest, the Border region, has widened over the past number of years.

Co Donegal had the lowest average disposable income per person in 2014, at €15,061. Other areas with low averages included counties Roscommon (€16,281), Monaghan (€16,395) and Offaly (€16,460).

The Border region also had the lowest average disposable income on a regional basis, at €16,601.

The gap between average disposable incomes in the Border region and in Dublin was €5,362 in 2014, an increase of €800 on the difference in the previous year.

Widening gap

The CSO reports that the gap between average disposable incomes in Dublin and in other regions decreased during the period of peak austerity, but has since widened again.

“Viewed from this longer-term perspective [from 2006 onwards], the divergence in income between the regions and Dublin was at its lowest in 2010, but has continued to widen in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014,” the CSO states.