Midlands once again the poor relation

The disparity in incomes between people in the Midlands and the remainder of the county continues to grow.

The midlands region (Westmeath, Offaly, Longford and Louth) was the country’s poorest region in 2019, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office published this week.

The average disposable income in the midlands was 22.3% lower than the average disposable income across the State.

And of the eight regions designated by the CSO the Midlands was the only one to see its average disposable incomes fall during 2019.

In fact, the average disposable income per person in the Midlands in 2019 at €17,125 was over €8,500 less than in Dublin and over €4,900 less than the national average.

The continual decline of the midlands region compared to the rest of the country is starkly evident in the figures.

For the last six years for which figures are available, the Midlands average disposable income has collapsed from 91% of the national average in 2013 to just 77.7% in 2019. The largest fall was between 2018 and 2019, when it fell from 81.3%.

On a countywide analysis, Midland counties acount for three of the four poorest in the State, with Laois having the lowest average disposable income in 2019, at 76.2% of the national average, followed by Longford, at 76.5% and Offaly, at 76.7%.

However, the CSO cautions that the county figures involve uncertainty, and provide only a useful indication of the degree of variability at county level.

Offaly, though, has consistently registered among the poorest in the country in these annual CSO figures. In the figures for 2018, it was the second poorest, with only Donegal having a lower average disposable income.

In terms of regions, Dublin (Dublin city and county) had the highest average disposable income per person in 2019.

At €25,696 it was 16.6% higher than the state average of €22,032 and increased approximately 5.3% on its 2018.

Of the remaining seven regions in 2019, only the Mid East. Mid West and the South West had an average disposable income per person on a par with the state average of €22,032.

The Border region with €18,524 and the Midland region with €17,125 were lowest in 2019 at 15.9% and 22.3% respectively, below the state average of €22,032.

In 2018 both regions were 16.8% and 18.7% respectively below the state average of €21,153.

The gap between the highest and lowest value of per capita disposable income, on a regional basis, increased from €7,205 in 2018 to €8,571 in 2019, due to Dublin regional incomes increasing by €1,297 (5.3%) while those of the lowest region, Midland, decreased by €69 (0.4%). Incomes in all remaining regions rose between 2018 and 2019.