On November 28th, 2019 the Central Statistics Office (CSO) published the Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) for 2018. SILC is a household survey that captures information on a range of income and social transfers. Amongst the data produced by SILC are key national poverty indicators including the ‘at-risk-of-poverty’ rate, the deprivation rate, and the consistent poverty rate.
- The at-risk-of-poverty rate is defined as “the share of persons with an equivalised income below a given percentage (usually 60%) of the national median income”. In 2018 the at-risk-of-poverty threshold increased by 9.2% to €13,505.
- The deprivation rate is defined as “Households that are excluded and marginalised from consuming goods and services which are considered the norm for other people in society, due to an inability to afford them”. The four indicators with the highest percentage of individuals experiencing deprivation were: without heating at some stage in the last year (38.9%); unable to afford a morning, afternoon or evening out in the last fortnight (54.7%); unable to replace any worn out furniture (77.3%); and unable to afford to have family or friends for a drink or meal once a month (61.3%).
- The consistent poverty rate captures people “who are defined as being at risk of poverty and experiencing enforced deprivation (experiencing two or more types of deprivation)”.
At the national level the at-risk-of-poverty rate declined from 15.7% in 2017 to 14% in 2018. While for unemployed people, the at-risk-of-poverty rate increased by 5.7% to 47.3% in 2018.
The deprivation rate was 18.8% in 2017 and fell to 15.1% in 2018. The deprivation rate for people who are at-risk-of-poverty decreased by 2.5% over the year to 40.3%. While for unemployed people, the deprivation rate increased slightly to 41.6% in 2018.
The consistent poverty rate declined by 1.1% to 5.6% in 2018. While for unemployed people, the consistent poverty rate increased from 24.1% in 2017 to 27.6% in 2018.
As these figures illustrate, key poverty indicators are much higher for unemployed people than the national figures. This was also true for other groups of people in 2018:
- The consistent poverty rate for people who were ‘not at work due to illness or disability’ was 21.3%; their deprivation rate was 36.7%; and their ‘at-risk-of-poverty’ rate was 47.7%.
- People whose educational attainment is ‘primary or below' had a consistent poverty rate of 9.6%; a deprivation rate of 21.9%; and an at-risk-of-poverty rate of 24.4%.
- Households where there was no one at work had a consistent poverty rate of 17.8%; a deprivation rate of 28.9%; and an ‘at-risk-of-poverty’ rate of 38.6%.
- Households with 1 adult aged <65 had a consistent poverty rate of 13.6%; their deprivation rate was 23.9%; and their ‘at-risk-of-poverty’ was 34%.
- Households with 1 adult with children aged under 18 had a consistent poverty rate of 19.2%; a deprivation rate of 42.7%; and at-risk-of-poverty rate of 33.5%.
If you wish to read the full survey please follow this link https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-silc/surveyonincomeandlivingconditionssilc2018/