Couples with children were the only households in Ireland to see their income drop in the last few years according to the CSO.

The new figures compare the period 2004-2005 with 2009-2010. It found that despite the recession every type of households expect for those comprising a mother and a father with children saw their gross income rise.

Households headed by a couple with between one and three children saw their income fall by 5 percent.

The chief reason for the drop appears to be that these families were hardest hit by unemployment.

According to the Household Budget Survey 2009-2010, the average weekly gross income of households in this category decreased by from €1,314.07 (in 2004-05) to €1,247.30.

By comparison, households comprising of just one adult reported a gross income of €496.56, an increase of 15.7pc on the same figure five years previous (€429.33).  

Households comprising of one adult with children had an average weekly gross income of €514.65, an increase of 6.6pc on the relative figure in 2004-2005, of €482.90.  

Total state transfers contributed to 61.5pc of lone parent households’ total gross income, largely because 62.7pc of lone parent households self-reported themselves as either unemployed or not economically active.  

By comparison, both adults in 17.9pc of households comprising of two adults with 1-3 children reported as being unemployed or not economically active.

Households comprising two adults saw their average weekly income rise by over 11pc, from €904.77 in 2004-04 to €1,005.25 in 2009-10, while households comprising three adults saw just a 0.7pc rise, from €1,418.84 in 2004-05 to €1,428.22 in 2009-10.

Households with three or more adults with children saw their average weekly income rise by nearly five percent (4.9pc) from €1,341.17 in 2004-04 to €1,407.07 in 2009-10.

Overall, households in the State saw an average increase of 3.9pc in their weekly income.

According to the CSO, the main reason for the drop in the weekly income of two adult households with children is the drop in double income couples in that category.

In 2004-05, 90.7pc of households comprising two adults with 1-3 children had at least one person working. Of these, 53.5pc had both adults working, and the remaining 37.2pc had one adult working.  

By 2009-10, 82.1pc of these households had one or more adults in work, but 44.1pc of these households had only one working adult, while 38.1pc were double income households, representing a fall of over 15pc of double income households in this category.

By contrast, among households with two adults, the fall in employment was far smaller, and there was no significant change in the number of double income households in this category.  

In 2004-05, 63.2pc of two adult households had at least one person working.

The number of these households with one adult working remained constant at 29.3pc between 2004-05 and 2009-10

Meanwhile, the number of two adult households where both were working went from 33.9pc in 2004-05 to 34.5pc in 2009-10.

Between 2004-05 and 2009-10, there was only a one percent fall in the percentage of number of employed people living in single adult accomodation, from 37pc to 36.3.

In households headed by a single adult with children, the percentage of adults who were employed fell from 46.5 in 2004-05 to 37.3 by 2009-10.  

However, many such adults saw their income supplemented by social welfare.