The increase in recent years has been driven by higher property values, which account for more than two thirds of household wealth.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe total value of housing assets owned by Irish households increased by \u20ac14.1 billion since the previous quarter, largely due to positive revaluations,\u201d the Central Bank said.<\/p>\n
The latest quarter-on-quarter increase was, however, driven by a rise in the value of financial assets held by households, which increased by \u20ac42.8 billion.<\/p>\n
Total financial assets stood at \u20ac643.8 billion and were mainly composed of currency and deposits (\u20ac222.5 billion) and insurance and pension entitlements (\u20ac312 billion).<\/p>\n
[\u00a0Who are Ireland\u2019s 11 billionaires and what are they worth?Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n The figures, however, highlighted an uneven distribution of wealth in Ireland with households in the bottom half commanding less than 10 per cent of total household wealth, equivalent to \u20ac145 billion.<\/p>\n The wealthiest 10 per cent of households owned \u20ac693.1 billion, or 47.2 per cent of total household net wealth.<\/p>\n The figures showed that the total net wealth of Irish households rose by \u20ac55.3 billion to stand at \u20ac1.429 trillion at the end of the first quarter of this year.<\/p>\n \u201cThis represents a new series high, continuing the pattern of growth seen in recent years,\u201d the regulator said.<\/p>\n Total liabilities, mainly consisting of long-term loans, totalled \u20ac158.9 billion for the period, up \u20ac1.6 billion on the previous quarter.<\/p>\n \u201cMuch of Ireland\u2019s household wealth is linked to property and given the steady house price growth of recent years, this is perhaps unsurprising,\u201d Bryan Harvey, managing director of wealth advisers WealthPlan, said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile the level of house price growth has eased, house prices continue to increase with the latest figures showing they are 26.5 per cent above the highest level at the peak of the property boom in April 2007,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Also responding to the report was deputy chief executive of Brokers Ireland Rachel McGovern who said the figures underlined the need for a new savings scheme.<\/p>\n Minister for Finance Simon Harris<\/a> is planning to set up a new State-sponsored savings scheme<\/a> to encourage households to invest in higher-yielding assets.<\/p>\n The scheme, which is set to be announced at budget time, is expected to carry a flat rate of annual tax.<\/p>\n The Government is understood to have been looking at the UK and Swedish models. <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1787842697_532_1784803479672-9ae96ac7-c636-4bcb-998c-c0aedcc60931.jpeg\"\/)
Will the upcoming budget drive inflation and increase costs for Irish households?<\/p>\n