To rank among Ireland\u2019s top 1 per cent of earners, an individual needs to generate \u20ac123,200 of disposable income a year, a new study has revealed.<\/p>\n
The threshold or entry point to the elite earners category in Ireland is the third highest in the EU<\/a>, research by Berlin-based DataPulse found.<\/p>\n Only Luxembourg<\/a> at \u20ac205,420 and Denmark<\/a> at \u20ac135,389 had higher thresholds. Ireland\u2019s entry point is higher than that of Germany<\/a> (\u20ac111,693), the Netherlands<\/a> (\u20ac107,894) and France<\/a> (\u20ac104,743).<\/p>\n The findings, which used Eurostat data on disposable income across member states, are part of a wider \u201cEuropean income ladder\u201d study commissioned by lifestyle and travel magazine AMEXcited. <\/p>\n It found that Ireland also has the third-highest share of its own population among the EU\u2019s top 1 per cent of earners. <\/p>\n Some 2.48 per cent of the Irish population, equating to 134,900 individuals, belong to the EU-wide top 1 per cent category, which has a threshold of \u20ac92,200 of annual disposable income per person after taxes and social contributions.<\/p>\n Germany and France together account for about 59 per cent of the EU-wide top 1 per cent by income, with roughly 35 per cent in Germany and 24 per cent in France.<\/p>\n The report also measured \u201cthe gap between the middle and the top\u201d. In Ireland, the top 1 per cent earning threshold, \u20ac123,200, was 3\u00bd times the median disposable income of \u20ac35,138.<\/p>\n This compares to 5\u00bd times in Bulgaria<\/a> \u2013 the highest \u2013 and just 2.4 times in Slovakia<\/a> \u2013 the lowest. <\/p>\n [\u00a0Household wealth in Ireland hits record \u20ac1.4tnOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n The survey also measured how much EU heads of government and members of national parliaments earn compared to people on median gross incomes in those member states.<\/p>\n In Ireland, Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin<\/a>\u2019s gross salary \u2013 \u20ac256,311 a year \u2013 was five times that of the gross median income at \u20ac51,781.<\/p>\n TDs, who get paid \u20ac119,467 a year, earned 2.3 times the gross median income.<\/p>\n The German chancellor earns \u20ac333,704 a year, 6.3 times the German median income at \u20ac53,098.<\/p>\n Chief executives in EU markets were found to earn between 100 and 700 times median salaries in their respective countries. <\/p>\n The best-paid chief executive in Ireland in 2024, according to the report, was Kerry Group chief executive Edmond Scanlon<\/a> on \u20ac6 million, which was 117 times median earnings here.<\/p>\n [\u00a0CEO pay in Ireland in 2025: One executive earned $237mOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n