Irish suffered second-steepest fall in incomes in the EU

Greece is the only country to have suffered a bigger drop in income than Ireland, according to an EU survey which shows the poorest families are bearing the brunt of the downturn.

The number of households experiencing financial distress across the EU is higher now than in the financial crisis in 2008, and it continues to increase.

Irish families typically suffered a 3% loss in disposable income in the early years of the crisis (2007 to 2009), but in the following two years the drop was closer to 9% — although this varied greatly among different income groups.