H.E.A.P.

CHART
Continuing at this scale, to include the
income of €118 million, the average of
the top three wealthiest households in
Ireland in 2007, the chart would be 750m
high or 12.5 times taller than Liberty Hall. Hierarchy of Earnings, Attributes and Privilege Analysis
134,000
WHAT THE CHART REPRESENTS:

€330,0000
132,000
The H.E.A.P. (Hierarchy of Earnings, Attributes and Privilege) chart
320,000
represents the income distribution of Irish households drawn from the 2006
320,000

130,000
Survey of Income and Living Conditions (SILC) in Ireland. Due to the extent
of Irish income inequality, and the limitations of a B1 poster, we were not
128,000
able to include the highest incomes in the main chart.

126,000
The figures include all income before tax, including government benefits.
We have not adjusted for household size. 300,000
300,000

124,000

The main chart shows incomes below €134,000, representing 95 per cent
122,000
of the Irish population. The scaled-down version of the chart shows incomes
up to €330,000. Due to space constraints we were not able to show the icon
120,000
at the very top, a managerial/professional couple household earning
€600,000. To put these figures in perspective, the average industrial wage 280,000
280,000

118,000
in 2006 was around €30,000.

116,000
ON BOTH CHARTS, EACH ICON REPRESENTS
114,000 2,800 IRISH HOUSEHOLDS.

112,000 260,000
260,000

Four household types are represented: single males, single females, single
females with dependents (children) and couples households. There were
110,000
not enough single men with children for us to represent them on the chart.
As well as indicating household type, each icon also shows the occupation
108,000
of the adult family member(s), differentiated by colour. The key below
provides a guide to household type and occupation.
106,000 240,000
240,000

USING THE CHART

104,000

To discover where you and your family are positioned in the Irish social
102,000
H.E.A.P., you need to calculate your annual household income:

100,000
1. Add together the incomes of all adults in your household. 220,000
220,000

98,000
2. Then add any government benefits received.

96,000
3. Identify the icon which most closely corresponds to your household
type and occupation.
94,000
200,000
200,000

4. Locate your income level on the vertical axis of the chart.

92,000

5. Check this row for your icon or one which most closely corresponds.
90,000

Chart authors: Professor Terrence McDonough and Jason Loughrey, Social

88,000
Sciences Research Centre (SSRC), National University of Ireland (NUI),
180,000
180,000

Galway.
86,000

Design: whitenoisestudios.com
84,000

Project supported by ICTU (Irish Congress of Trade Unions), TASC

82,000
(Thinktank for Action on Social Change) and the SSRC (NUI Galway).
160,000
160,000

80,000
100,000

78,000
€134,0000 +

76,000

140,000
140,000

74,000

72,000
MAIN GRAPH €134,0000

70,000

120,000
68,000

66,000

64,000

62,000 100,000

60,000
60,000

58,000

56,000 80,000

54,000

52,000

50,000
60,000

48,000

46,000

44,000
40,000

42,000

40,000
40,000

38,000
20,000

36,000

34,000

32,000

30,000

28,000

26,000

24,000

22,000

20,000
20,000

18,000

16,000

14,000

12,000

10,000

8,000

6,000

4,000

2,000

HOUSEHOLD TYPE OCCUPATION

Managerial and professional: Managers, directors and other Clerical and secretarial: Secretaries; clerks; cashiers; bank Craft and related: Builders; plumbers; electricians; painters; Sales: Models; shop salespersons; shop demonstrators; market
executives; scientists and engineers; health professionals; tellers; travel agents; receptionists; telephone operators and welders; motor mechanics; handicraft workers; food processing salespersons; and street vendors.
teachers; business professionals; lawyers; writers; and call centre operators. workers; textile workers; garbage collectors; and construction
technicians. and maintenance labourers.

SINGLE MALE SINGLE FEMALE PLUS COUPLES Other: This includes occupations that do not fit into one of the Personal and protective services: Travel guides; waiters Plant and machine operatives: Power-production operators; Unemployed/disabled, students: This category includes
FEMALE DEPENDENT other categories, but were not numerous enough to require a and bartenders; child-care workers; personal care workers; water-treatment operators; assembly-line operators; industrial- people who are unable to participate in the active workforce
separate category. hairdressers; beauticians; undertakers; fire-fighters; police robot operators; chemical-products machine operators; printing- due to disability; those who are currently unemployed, but
The couples icon includes couples with children and couples without officers; armed forces; domestic helpers and cleaners; machine operators; sewing-machine operators; food-processing- available to take up employment; and full-time students.
children as the latter were not numerous enough to be represented caretakers; messengers and porters. machine operators; and vehicle drivers.
on the chart. Same sex couples are not represented on the chart as
the survey data does not include that information. Retired: This category comprises those who have retired on Farmers: Crop growers; vegetable growers; horticulturalists; Home duties: This category includes people who look after
age grounds. dairy and livestock producers; poultry producers; farm children, older people and/or people with disabilities on
Each icon represents 2,800 households. labourers; forestry workers; and fishery workers. an unpaid basis, and people who are voluntarily not in the
labour force.