This release is categorised as a CSO Frontier Series Output and is based on linking administrative income data with the 2022 Census population living in private households. When calculating household income, estimates for some households are underestimated, as not all income sources are included, such as undeclared employment income, inter-household transfers, and some foreign pensions. Throughout this release, the term administrative income will be used to describe the income sources covered.
Equivalised income allows for a more meaningful comparison of income across households by accounting for the number of adults and children living in the household, thus allowing for analysis at an individualised level. The term low-income threshold refers to households with an equivalised net administrative income of below 60% of the national median equivalised net income as derived from administrative data sources. In this release, the low-income threshold is deemed to be €16,271.
As a CSO Frontier Series release, particular care must be taken when interpreting the statistics in this release as it may use new methods which are under development and/or data sources which may be incomplete, for example, new administrative data sources. For further information on the data sources, linking procedures and limitations of this report, see the Background Notes.
Equivalised income allows for a more meaningful comparison of income across households by accounting for the number of adults and children living in the household, thus allowing for analysis at an individualised level. However, when analysing by individual characteristics, it should be borne in mind that equivalised income is influenced by the income of all household members.
Equivalence scales are used to calculate the equivalised household size in a household. Although there are numerous scales, we focus on the national scale in this release. The national scale attributes a weight of 1 to the first adult, 0.66 to each subsequent adult (defined here as those aged 14+ living in the household) and 0.33 to each child aged less than 14. The weights for the persons in each household are then summed to calculate the equivalised household size.
Household net administrative income, is income from administrative sources such as employment income from Revenue and social welfare income from Department of Social Protection, after tax and social insurance has been deducted. For further information, see the Background Notes.
To calculate equivalised net administrative income, a household’s net administrative income is divided by the equivalised household size. For further information on the household level income used in this release, see Geographical Profiles of Income in Ireland 2022 - Household Income.
Administrative counties correspond with the Local Authorities, covering 31 city and county councils. For example, Cork county refers to the region administered by Cork County Council. The administrative county with the highest equivalised net income in 2022 was Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Council with a median of €36,442 and a mean of €43,752.
The administrative county with the lowest equivalised net income in 2022 was Donegal, with a median of €21,626 and a mean of €23,949.
With regard in particular to border regions, it should be noted that households containing persons working abroad and not linked to administrative earnings data in Ireland have been excluded from analysis, as their household income cannot be accurately determined. Such exclusions may lead to biases in the estimates for these regions. For further information, see the Background Notes.
Taking 60% of the national median equivalised net administrative income as a low-administrative-income threshold at €16,271, we can look at the proportion of people with an equivalised net administrative income below this threshold by region.
In 2022, 11.5% of people in county Kildare had an equivalised net administrative income below 60% of the national median, compared with 25% of people in county Donegal.
By administrative county, the percentage of individuals with equivalised net administrative income below 60% of the national median in 2022, was lowest in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Council, at 9.5%. The proportion of people below this low-income threshold was highest in Donegal County Council, at 25.0%.
For the purposes of local authority elections, each county and city are divided into Local Electoral Areas (LEAs). For further information see Census 2022 Small Area Population Statistics.
In Leinster, the percentage of individuals with equivalised net administrative income below 60% of the national median in 2022, was highest in Longford in county Longford (24.7%), followed by Dundalk-Carlingford in county Louth (21.8%). The proportion of people under this threshold was lowest in Rathfarnham-Templeogue in South Dublin (6.6%) and Leixlip in county Kildare (7.6%).
In Ulster, the proportion of people below this low-income threshold was highest in Carndonagh (36.1%) and Buncrana (31.9%), both in county Donegal. The Ulster LEAs with the lowest percentage of people under this low-income threshold were Bailieborough-Cootehill (16.2%) and Ballyjamesduff (18.3%), both in county Cavan.
In Connaught, the LEA with the highest proportion of people under the low-income threshold was Belmullet in county Mayo (25.5%), followed by Ballinamore in county Leitrim (23.3%). Meanwhile, Athenry-Oranmore (10.7%) followed by Gort-Kinvara (12.2%), both in county Galway, had the lowest percentages of people under the low-income threshold.
In Munster, the proportion of persons under the low-income threshold was highest in Bantry-West Cork (24.6%), followed by Kenmare in county Kerry (23.2%). Conversely, it was lowest in Cobh (11.0%) and Carrigaline (11.1%) both in county Cork.
The six new Health Service Executive (HSE) regions were set up in March 2024. For further information, see HSE health regions.
The HSE Dublin and Midlands health region covers Longford, Westmeath, Offaly, Laois, Kildare, West Wicklow and parts of Dublin South. In this region, 13.6% of persons had an equivalised net administrative income below 60% of the national median in 2022.
The HSE Dublin and North East health region covers North Dublin, Meath, Louth, Cavan, and Monaghan. This region had the lowest proportion of persons below the low-income threshold, 13.4%.
The HSE Dublin and South East health region covers Tipperary South, Waterford, Kilkenny, Carlow, Wexford, Wicklow, and parts of Dublin South. In this region, 14.3% of persons were below the low-income threshold.
The HSE Mid West health region covers Limerick, Tipperary North, and Clare. This region had the second-highest proportion of people below the low-income threshold, 16.3%.
The HSE South West health region covers Kerry and Cork. In this region, 15.6% of persons were below the low-income threshold.
The HSE West and North West health region covers Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon, Mayo, and Galway. This region had the highest proportion of persons below the low-income threshold, 18.6%.
The new HSE health geographies are hierarchical. Just as counties nest within provinces, the 20 HSE Integrated Healthcare Areas (IHAs) nest within the 6 HSE Health Regions.
The HSE Dublin North County IHA had the lowest proportion of persons (10.3%) with an equivalised net administrative income below 60% of the national median in 2022.
The HSE Donegal IHA had the highest proportion of people (25.1%) below this low-income threshold.
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