Press Release: Response to the publication of the CSO poverty figures (SILC) for 2016

Latest report shows that people living in poverty not feeling the recovery

A report today from the Central Statistics Office shows that the number of people living in poverty is still at crisis levels and that those living in poverty are not experiencing the benefits of any economic recovery. EAPN Ireland again calls on the Government to urgently put in place an integrated anti-poverty plan with the ambition necessary to make a decisive impact on poverty.

The CSO’s Survey of Income and Living Conditions 2016 shows that:

• The national median (the middle) disposable income per person grew from €20,000 in 2015 to €20,579 in 2016.
• The number of people at-risk of poverty fell slightly from 16.9% in 2015 to 16.5% or over 785,000 people in 2016. These are people whose incomes were below the poverty line which is 60% of the median disposable income.
• The number of people experiencing enforced deprivation fell significantly from 25.5% to 21% of the population from 2016. However, the fall was experienced almost completely by those with incomes above the poverty line. Half of those living below the poverty line, and at-risk of poverty, could not afford 2 or more of 11 basic necessities.
• Consistent poverty fell slightly from 8.7% to 8.3% (around 394,900 people). The Government has missed its interim poverty reduction target of reducing consistent poverty to 4% by 2016. The overall goal is to reduce it 2% or less by 2020. Consistent poverty was at 4.2% before the crisis.
• Over 11% of children were in consistent poverty in 2016.
• The overall situation is much worse for certain households. For example in 2016 around four in ten households headed by someone who is unemployed, not at work due to an illness or a disability and households with one adult and children were at-risk of poverty and one quarter of them were in consistent poverty.

Paul Ginnell, Policy Officer EAPN Ireland stated that “at Christmas time we are reminded of those living in poverty and called on to provide important support to charities. However, poverty is unacceptable, especially in a wealthy country like Ireland, so it is crucial that we address the causes of poverty and make sure poverty is something no-one has to face.”

Mr Ginnell concluded that “the Programme for Government has committed to an integrated plan to address inequality and poverty so we now need to see that plan developed and implemented and real progress begin made towards the 2% target for consistent poverty by 2020”.

Ends.

 Download Press release here

Notes:

Note: official ways of measuring poverty

• At Risk of Poverty or relative income poverty, is having an income that is less than what is regarded as the norm in society, giving a lower than normal standard of living. This is the share of persons with an equivalised disposable income below a given percentage (usually 60%) of the national median income. It is also calculated at 40%, 50% and 70% for comparison. The rate is calculated by ranking persons by equivalised income from smallest to largest and then extracting the median or middle value. Anyone with an equivalised income of less than 60% of the median is considered at risk of poverty at a 60% level.
• Material Deprivation: Those in material or enforced deprivation in Ireland are those who cannot afford at least two of the eleven goods or services considered essential for a basic standard of living. The current 11 indicators are:

1. Two pairs of strong shoes
2. A warm waterproof overcoat
3. Buy new not second-hand clothes
4. Eat meals with meat, chicken, fish (or vegetarian equivalent) every second day
5. Have a roast joint or its equivalent once a week
6. Had to go without heating during the last year through lack of money
7. Keep the home adequately warm
8. Buy presents for family or friends at least once a year
9. Replace any worn out furniture
10. Have family or friends for a drink or meal once a month
11. Have a morning, afternoon or evening out in the last fortnight, for entertainment

• Consistent Poverty is the measurement preferred by the Irish Government and developed independently by the Irish Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI). This measure identifies the proportion of people who are both at-risk of poverty (less than 60% of median income) and who are materially deprived because they cannot afford two of the eleven agreed items.

Some statistics from  SILC Report for 2016

Full release at http://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/er/silc/surveyonincomeandlivingconditions2016/

A table of selected relative, deprivation and consistent poverty statistics for 2008, 2015 and 2016