Scale Of Poverty "Far Too High" In Ireland

Social Justice Ireland says the Government need to act.

The latest CSO numbers clearly show that Government has failed, to date, to commit to leaving nobody behind,says Social Justice Ireland.

More than 660,000 people are still living in poverty in Ireland, of which a quarter are children, that's according to the latest CSO figures.

Some 661,518 people in Ireland are living in poverty, of which 210,363 are children.

There are 133,627 people living in poverty, yet are in employment, these are classified the “working poor”.

The amount of people are experiencing deprivation stands at 781,794, of which 250,956 are children.

Social Justice Ireland has called on the Government to implement a number of policy recommendations it has made.

Among the recommendations is for the Government to acknowledge the ongoing poverty and deprivation problem in Ireland.

It says the the government need to support the widespread adoption of the Living Wage so that low paid workers receive an adequate income and can afford a minimum, but decent, standard of living. 

It says the problem of the ‘working poor’ needs to recognised, and tax credits need to be made refundable to address the situation of households in poverty which are headed by a person with a job. 

SJI says a cost of disability allowance needs to be introduced to address poverty and the social exclusion of people with a disability.

Dr Seán Healy, Director, Social Justice Ireland commented on the CSO release: "Without COVID-19 income supports the at risk of poverty rate would have been almost 21%, one in five people in Ireland.  

"While the Wage Subsidy Schemes and the Pandemic Unemployment Payment have helped to support people from the worst economic impact of the pandemic, today’s figures are very concerning and point to the long term economic and social impact of the pandemic on households."

“The sheer scale of the numbers of people living in poverty is worrying, particularly when we consider the impact of the Government pandemic income supports in cushioning households from the worst effects of the pandemic," he said.

"The scale of poverty is still far too high and presents some serious policy challenges.  In addition, the number of people experiencing deprivation, including one in four children is a clear sign that despite several years of sustained economic growth, many people’s circumstances have not improved at all," he insisted.

“Government has again shown that it has no clear, comprehensive strategy to tackle poverty, social exclusion and vulnerability," he concluded.