The gap in incomes between Dublin and less prosperous parts of the Republic narrowed slightly between 1999 and 2000, according to data released by the Central Statistics Office yesterday.

The figures show that disposable income in the Dublin region was 16.8 per cent above the State average in 2000, while disposable income in the Midland area was 14.2 per cent below the average.

The 31-point gap between the two compares with a difference of 32.6 points in 1999. In 1995, a gap of 26 points was recorded.

Disposable incomes remained highest in county Dublin in 2000 according to detailed numbers, which offer the most up-do-date indication on regional GDP across the Republic.

Laois sat at the opposite end of the scale in 2000, with a disposable income 18.1 per cent below the mean. This represented a slight improvement on 1999, when incomes in the area were 19.1 per cent below the average.

The Midland region as a whole had a disposable income of 85.8 per cent of the average in 2000, up slightly from 84.4 per cent in 1999.

Donegal, which forms part of the Border region for statistical purposes, had the next lowest means on a county basis, with incomes sitting at 82.4 per cent of the State average in 2000, down from 84.1 per cent in 1999. Less than 10 counties saw their incomes decline over the year.

Kildare boasted the next most substantial disposable income after Dublin in 2000, with households in the county having 5.2 per cent more to spend that their equivalents elsewhere.

Limerick took third place, coming in 2.6 points above the average. Galway was just below the average with 99.1 per cent of the average, while Waterford recorded 97.4 per cent.