Ireland's richest 10% own five times more wealth than bottom half of households
The Central Bank said the total net wealth of households in the poorest half of the distribution increased by just under 4% to €131.4bn, equating to 9.4% cent of the national total. Photographer: Patrick Bolger/Bloomberg
The net wealth of Irish households soared in the final three months of last year, rising by more than €40bn at the end of 2025.
A new report by the Central Bank of Ireland on Thursday found that Irish household net wealth grew to €1,382bn last year, reflecting an all-time high since the regulator's series began.
The overall increase was driven by a rise in housing wealth of €26.4bn, with housing wealth accounting for over two-thirds of total net wealth and 60% of the total assets of Irish households.
While net wealth continues to grow, Sarah McGurrin, head of employee benefits at wealth advisors NFP Ireland said many households will see little benefit, particularly those that do not own property or are waiting to get on the property ladder.
"Wealth inequality is high in Ireland, with the wealthiest 10% of Irish households commanding €661.3bn of the total net household wealth in the country," Ms McGurrin said.
As of 2025, Ireland's wealthiest owned 47.3% of total household net wealth in the country.
The Central Bank said the total net wealth of households in the poorest half of the distribution increased by just under 4% to €131.4bn, reflecting under 10% cent of the national total.
As a result, the richest 10% of Irish households held more than five times the amount held by those in the bottom half of the net wealth distribution altogether, the regulator said.
Households in the “middle” part of the distribution owned almost €607bn overall, or 43.3% of total net wealth in the country at the end of last year.
Meanwhile, total household investment reached €8.8bn, of which new housing comprised €5bn. In addition, the total value of housing assets owned by Irish households increased by €26.4bn since the previous quarter, largely due to positive revaluations.
"Property values have driven a lot of the growth in Irish household wealth," Ms McGurrin said.
"Existing homeowners may benefit not only from higher asset values but also from lower loan-to-value ratios that could make it easier to negotiate better mortgage deals.
The Central Bank also found the balance sheet composition of Irish households differs significantly between the wealthier and poorer.
Overall, households in the top net wealth decile displayed a more diversified portfolio composition, with other financial assets such as debt securities, listed shares, investment fund shares, and life insurance featuring prominently, accounting for almost 19% of total assets.
Wealthier households also displayed lower leverage when compared to households in the bottom half of the wealth distribution. Conversely, poorer households held the largest part of their financial wealth in deposits at over 19% and were significantly more leveraged.
For all household groups, housing assets represent the main component of their wealth.
Despite the divide between Ireland's wealthier and poorer households, the Central Bank said the country's wealth inequality remained well below the EU average, with the gap in Ireland continuing to close since the regulator's series began.
The sustained de-leveraging process of poorer households and the rise in value of housing assets over the years – which mainly benefited households for whom this asset represents a larger component of their total wealth - drove the increase in the share of total net wealth held by the poorest half of households," the Central Bank said.
"As a result, net wealth inequality in Ireland significantly decreased since the beginning of the series."
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