This chart takes a sample of people older than 15 in Ireland and sorts them into five groups according to their household income after tax. The height of the bars shows the level of income of each group as a percentage of the EU average for that group. In both 2007 and 2017, lower earners (group 1) have a larger advantage relative to their EU-peers than higher earners. While the relative position of all income groups worsened compared to pre-crisis times, all remain close to or above the EU average.