Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 October 2013
37. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Finance the way his Department collects data on levels of wealth here; if he will now establish a commission on high incomes and wealth either as part of the Central Statistics Office or otherwise. [43558/13]
View answerAggregate level data on household and corporate net worth are published by the Central Bank in the Quarterly Financial Accounts. I am informed by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) that its institutional sector accounts do not give an indication of the number of households or persons classified by the categories of wealth they hold. These statistics are based on aggregate information collected from financial institutions and do not contain the demographic details which would enable such a breakdown of the statistics. So while the CSO’s institutional sector accounts show that households held c. €126 billion on deposit in 2010, this is not broken down by income or wealth categories.
However, I understand that, following discussions between the Department of Public Enterprise and Reform, the CSO and the Central Bank, the CSO has commenced a "Household Finance and Consumption Survey", which will collect information on household wealth. The first results of this survey will be available in 2014. The data to be collected by the CSO as part of its Household Finance and Consumption Survey is general information on the financial situation and behaviour of households.
The CSO’s institutional sector accounts present annual transactions in financial and non-financial assets of households. The financial balance sheet positions for households' assets are also reported - €324.3bn (liabilities €184.4bn) in 2012. The non-financial balance sheets of households only have details of property assets. As indicated above, these details are at the aggregate level. More data are available at http://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/er/csfa/estimatesofthecapitalstockoffixedassets2012/ .
I am not clear whether the Deputy’s question relates to general or specific issues relating to high income and wealth. In a tax context, the 2009 Commission on Taxation considered the taxation of income and wealth. I have no plans to establish a Commission on high incomes and on wealth at present.
