The richest 10 per cent of Irish households now account for almost 50 per cent of the state’s total household wealth, central bank figures show.

The net worth of Irish households rose to a record €1.34 trillion in the third quarter of last year, equating to around €245,000 per person and €724,000 per household.

Regarding increase in wealth, central bank The latest quarterly household wealth statistics were released despite pressure on the cost of living and mainly reflected rising property values.

Although encouraging, the figures highlight the highly uneven distribution of wealth in the Republic, with households in the bottom half of the distribution having a total net worth of just 8.9 percent (€128 billion) of total household wealth.

The richest 10% of households own more than five times that amount, equivalent to 49.2% of total household wealth or €709 billion.

The figures show that the total net worth of Irish households rose by €48.3 billion to €1.337 trillion at the end of the third quarter last year.

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“This is a new all-time high and continues the growth pattern seen in recent years,” the company said.

This increase was due to an increase in housing equity due to rising house prices, which rose by €31.1 billion to €905 billion.

House prices rose 7% last year and 8.7% the year before.

Housing equity currently accounts for almost 68% of Irish households’ total net worth and 60.6% of total assets.

A household’s net worth is calculated by adding the total value of its housing stock and financial assets (such as cash savings, stocks, pensions, and possessions such as cars and antiques) and subtracting any outstanding debts or debts.

This is considered a crude measure of prosperity because it hides the distribution of household assets and debt across income groups and age categories.

Keith Butler, chief executive of Ask Acorn, a Galway-based financial services group, said: “Total household wealth in Ireland stands at €1.34 trillion, most of which is concentrated at the top.”

“Most households have little, if any, savings and are just putting it into savings,” he says.

According to central bank statistics, household financial assets amounted to 589 billion euros at the end of the third quarter, mainly consisting of currency and deposits (218.6 billion euros) and insurance and pension rights (272 billion euros).

Total debt, consisting mainly of long-term debt, amounted to 157.1 billion euros, an increase of 1.1 billion euros compared to the previous quarter.