Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There are not recent reliable data in Ireland on wealth distribution. It has only been very recently, particularly in the Central Statistics Office report published in 2015, that reliable data have been emerging. These data indicate that wealth inequality in Ireland for 2013, that is, the year examined, is lower than the eurozone average as measured by the Gini coefficient. The results also show that wealth is less concentrated at the top of the distribution here in Ireland than the eurozone average. Central Bank analysis of the data also indicates that while wealth inequality has increased since 2011, it is actually lower than was the case in 2006, the earliest period for which data are available.

As part of the research programme agreed between my Department and the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, covering macroeconomic and taxation issues, a research project involving detailed analysis of wealth distribution and taxation has been included. It is intended that this research project, based on the household finance and consumption survey published in 2015 by the CSO will commence shortly. It should be noted that the data gathered by the CSO as part of the HFCS were not collected for the purposes of calculating the potential yield from a wealth tax but to collect general information on the financial situation and behaviour of households. As I have stated on a number of occasions, the Government has no plan to introduce a wealth tax although all taxes and potential taxation options of course are constantly reviewed.

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