The median weekly earnings of International Protection Applicants (IPAs) in receipt of the State’s Daily Expense Allowance (DEA) was €544.09 in 2024.
This 24 per cent lower than the median weekly earnings for a general employee in the Irish economy in 2024 (€711.56).
A total of 17,250 applicants received the DEA, a social welfare benefit paid by the Department of Social Protection to IP applicants, in 2024.
In 2022, the number of new beneficiaries of the DEA exceeded 10,000 for the first time, at 11,750 people. This number dropped to 10,252 people in 2023 before increasing again to 17,250 people last year.
RM Block
Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures indicate 74.1 per cent of this IPA group in employment were male, while females accounted for 25.9 per cent.
For the IPA group from 2021 to 2024 and in employment in 2024, nearly two thirds worked in three sectors: administrative and support services, accommodation and food services, and wholesale and retail trade.
In 2024, median weekly earnings for the IPA group working in the top three sectors of employment were €577.49 in administrative and support services, €445.24 in accommodation and food services, and €516.44 in wholesale and retail trade.
The highest median weekly earnings in 2024 for the IPA group by nationality were those from Georgia (€658.60) and Zimbabwe (€566.55).
Countries with the lowest median weekly earnings for this group in 2024 included Botswana with a median of €527.35, followed closely by Nigeria with a median of €527.93.
Continuing to comment on the release, Cathal Doherty, statistician in the life events and demography division of the CSO said: “The country of nationality of the IPA group in employment was also assessed in this release.”
“Median weekly earnings for eight countries of nationality were assessed over time and compared with the general population,” he said.
“The countries include Afghanistan, Algeria, Botswana, Georgia, Nigeria, Somalia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. These countries were included as they were deemed to have sufficiently large enough numbers of the IPA group in employment across 2022, 2023, and 2024," he said.
