Press Statement

Preasráiteas

09 September 2020

Go to release: Illness Benefits: Employment and Commuting Analysis 2016-2017

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (09 September 2020) published Illness Benefits: Employment and Commuting Analysis (2016-2017). This CSO release examines commuting and employment data for people who received illness or injury benefits in the year following Census 2016 and is an example of the policy-relevant research projects the CSO are developing as part of their leadership role of the Irish Statistical System.

Long commuting times can have significant impacts on work-life balance, well-being, and stress levels and can indirectly impact on people’s ability to manage their own health and well-being. Commuting can have a detrimental effect on health levels if the individual is, for example, using a car instead of walking, and where exposure to pollution is increased by commuting. Also, findings from the Healthy Ireland Survey (commissioned by the Department of Health), Irish Sports Monitor and other research show that one of the most common reasons cited for not meeting the National Physical Activity Guidelines is lack of time.

Commenting on this release, Kieran Culhane, Senior Statistician, said:

‘The analysis looks at employees who made a claim for illness benefit in the 12 months following Census night (24 April 2016). An illness benefit claim was made by 80 in 1,000 employees in this period, with 15 employees making multiple illness benefit claims and nine making an illness benefit claim of six months or longer. Over this time, an occupational injury benefit claim was made by five employees per 1,000.

Illness benefit rate was higher for women at 103 per 1,000 employees compared with 55 for men. Illness benefit was more common as age increased. For workers under 25 years, the rate was 35 per 1,000 employees, compared with 94 among workers aged 45-64.

Illness benefit rates were above average for those who left home for work before 8.00am, with the highest rate of 101 per 1,000 employees for those who left before 6.30am.

Transport mode showed that those either driving a car to work or travelling as a passenger in a car had the highest rates of illness benefit at 91 and 86 per 1,000 employees respectively. Active modes such as cycling a bicycle (44) or walking (63) were amongst the lowest.

The occupations and economic sectors of workers who received illness benefit is reflected in the earnings data, with below average illness benefit rates among higher earners. The rate of illness benefit is above the average of 80 per 1,000 employees for all annual earnings up to €60,000, with the highest rate of 103 for those earning between €30,000 and €50,000. Workers earning more than €70,000 a year had the lowest illness benefit rate of 43 per 1,000 employees.

Illness benefit rate was highest for people who worked in the Public Administration & Defence and Health & Social Work sectors of the economy at 132 per 1,000 employees and lowest for those working in Information & Communication activities at 38 per 1,000 employees.

While the insights obtained here only relate to commuting patterns at the time of Census 2016, it demonstrates the possibilities for analysis if Eircodes were more widely collected in public sector datasets.’

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