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Financial Burdens

Financial Burdens

Increase in the financial burden of housing costs and loan repayments

CSO statistical publication, , 11am

SILC data 2020 to 2022 was revised on 7 March 2024 due to changes made to weights, reflecting updated household population benchmarks, because of the availability of Census 2022 data.
The data in Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC): Enforced Deprivation 2022 was published on 23 November 2022 and does not reflect these revisions. For the most up to date deprivation data, which reflect revised population benchmarks from Census revisions, please see SILC Enforced Deprivation 2023 or PxStat.

In SILC, weights are applied to the data to ensure the results are reflective of the population as a whole. In 2022, the SILC Enforced Deprivation publication was released early, before the income data was fully processed, to provide more timely statistics on households. Following the processing of the income data and coherence checks with administrative data sources, the weights used for SILC 2022 data have been refined. Adjustments were made in the non-response process and the calibration boundaries, reducing the variance of the weights and improving the accuracy of the estimates. As a result, estimates contained in the SILC 2022 Enforced Deprivation publication have been revised. Please see the information note which compares published and revised results.

Households were asked the extent to which housing costs and the repayment of non-housing-related debts are a financial burden to the household. The answer categories were ‘a heavy burden’; ‘somewhat a burden; ‘not a burden at all”.

Three in ten households find housing costs to be a heavy financial burden

31.1%
of households
regard housing costs as a heavy financial burden in 2022
up from 23.0% in 2021
Source: CSO Ireland, Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC): Enforced Deprivation 2022

In 2022, of the 99.4% households indicating they have housing costs, 31.1% regard housing costs as a heavy financial burden, compared with 23% in 2021. The proportion reporting housing costs to be no burden at all reduced from 30.1% in 2021 to 21.9% in 2022. See figure 6.1 and table 6.1.

No burden at allSomewhat of a burdenA heavy burden
202221.946.931.1
202130.14723
202024.750.624.7
Table 6.1 Financial burden of the total housing cost by demographic characteristics and year (% of households)

One in five households find the repayment of loans to be a heavy financial burden

21.4%
of households with hire purchase instalments or other loan payments
regard their payment as a heavy financial burden in 2022
up from 16.9% in 2021
Source: CSO Ireland, Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC): Enforced Deprivation 2022

Of the 29.0% of households that indicated they have hire purchase instalments or other loan payments, 21.4% regard the repayment of such loans to be a heavy financial burden in 2022, up from 16.9% in 2021. See figure 6.2 and table 6.2.

X-axis labelNo burden at allSomewhat of a burdenA heavy burden
20223147.621.4
202132.350.816.9
202028.648.822.5
Table 6.2 Financial burden of the repayment of debts from hire purchases or loans by demographic characteristics and year (% of households)

Three in five single-adult households with children consider housing costs to be a heavy financial burden

By household composition, the financial burden of housing costs is higher for households containing children and lowest amongst households without children. Three in five (58.4%) of single-adult households with children regard housing costs as a heavy burden, compared with less than one in five (19.9%) of households comprised of two-adults where at least one is aged 65 or over. See figure 6.3 and table 6.1.

X-axis labelTotal housing costRepayment of debts from hire purchases or loans
1 adult aged 65
years and over
25.731.4
1 adult aged less
than 65 years
26.425
2 adults,
at least 1 aged
65 years and over
19.915.4
2 adults, both aged
less than 65 years
28.718.9
3 or more adults28.814
1 adult, with
children under 18 years
58.433.3
2 adults,
with 1-3 children
under 18 years
38.621.4
Other households with
children under 18 years
38.723.2

Four in ten rented households find housing costs to be a heavy financial burden

Rented or rent-free households are more likely than owner-occupied households to consider housing costs and loan repayments to be a heavy financial burden. Two in five (41.9%) of rented or rent-free households found housing costs to be a heavy burden, compared with owner-occupied households at 26.3%. See figure 6.4.

X-axis labelTotal housing costRepayment of debts from hire purchases or loans
Owner-occupied26.318.6
Rented or rent free41.927.8

Two in three households living in enforced deprivation find housing costs to be a heavy burden

Of households living in enforced deprivation, 67.2% find housing costs to be a heavy financial burden, compared with 22.8% of households not experiencing deprivation. See figure 6.5.

X-axis labelTotal housing costRepayment of debts from hire purchases or loans
Not experiencing deprivation22.813.3
Experiencing deprivation67.245.5