evidence: The large proportion of wealth held in Irish houses — and the huge financial dividend to longer established homeowners — also underlines the longer-term financial gap between this generation and younger people, many of whom can’t afford to get on the property ladder. Housing has been the traditional way Irish people have accumulated wealth and, crucially, had somewhere to live in retirement when their income fell. If more and more people are renting in the long-term, how do they afford to live in retirement? 3. The resilience of households: A positive spin-off from the figures is the evidence that Irish households, in general, are now financially stronger. Compared to the position heading into the financial crash, with all its painful consequences, debt levels are lower even in cash terms and net wealth is more solidly based. That said, were a significant fall in house prices to occur it would quickly reduce net wealth. [...] 4, The bottom line: Ireland’s wealth remains property driven and thus reliant on house price trends. The country’s wealth has built in recent years — and holdings of financial assets are growing steadily, but how the next generation can afford to accumulate any wealth remains a big question. And while cash in the bank may help to ride out the cost-of-living crisis, many lower-income households have little leeway.