The Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) in Ireland is a household survey covering a broad range of issues in relation to income and living conditions. It is the official source of data on household and individual income and also provides a number of key national poverty indicators, such as the at risk of poverty rate and the consistent poverty rate. SILC was conducted by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) for the first time in 2003 under EU legislation (Council regulation No. 1177/2003). The survey is currently being conducted on an annual basis in order to monitor changes in income and living conditions over time. This chapter presents the 2015 results along with comparative information for previous years. The survey is also carried out in other EU member states allowing comparable statistics to be compiled on a pan-European basis.
| X-axis label | Household disposable income | Equivalised disposable income per individual |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 836.44 | 406.84 |
| 2007 | 919.66 | 452.47 |
| 2008 | 939.89 | 467.24 |
| 2009 | 880.78 | 447.03 |
| 2010 | 826.96 | 424.26 |
| 2011 | 801.43 | 410.88 |
| 2012 | 803.51 | 413.52 |
| 2013 | 820.77 | 421.53 |
| 2014 | 835.92 | 429.21 |
| 2015 | 868.01 | 446.55 |
Interactive table: StatBank link
The average weekly equivalised disposable income per person was €446.55 in 2015, an increase of 4.0% on the 2014 value of €429.21 and a decline of 4.4% from a peak of €467.24 in 2008.
The average weekly household disposable income in 2015 was €868.01, an increase of 3.8% on the 2014 value. Household disposable income peaked in 2008 at €939.89 and decreased by 7.6% between 2008 and 2015.
| X-axis label | At risk of poverty rate | Deprivation rate | Consistent poverty rate | Deprivation rate for those at risk of poverty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 17 | 14 | 6.6 | 38.6 |
| 2007 | 16.5 | 11.8 | 5.1 | 31.1 |
| 2008 | 14.4 | 13.7 | 4.2 | 29.1 |
| 2009 | 14.1 | 17.1 | 5.5 | 38.8 |
| 2010 | 14.7 | 22.6 | 6.3 | 42.9 |
| 2011 | 16 | 24.5 | 6.9 | 43.2 |
| 2012 | 17.3 | 26.9 | 8.5 | 48.9 |
| 2013 | 16.5 | 30.5 | 9.1 | 55.1 |
| 2014 | 17.2 | 29 | 8.8 | 51.2 |
| 2015 | 16.9 | 25.5 | 8.7 | 51.5 |
Interactive table: StatBank link
The at risk of poverty rate was 16.9% in 2015, not a statistically significant change on the 2014 rate of 17.2%.
Enforced deprivation was experienced by 25.5% of the population, down from 29.0% in 2014.
The deprivation rate for those at risk of poverty was 51.5% in 2015 compared with 51.2% in 2014 and a low of 29.1% in 2008.
The consistent poverty rate was 8.7% in 2015 compared to 8.8% in 2014.
| X-axis label | Gini coefficient (%) | Income quintile share ratio |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 32.3 | 5 |
| 2006 | 32.4 | 4.9 |
| 2007 | 31.7 | 4.8 |
| 2008 | 30.6 | 4.5 |
| 2009 | 29.3 | 4.3 |
| 2010 | 31.4 | 4.8 |
| 2011 | 31.1 | 4.9 |
| 2012 | 31.8 | 5.1 |
| 2013 | 32 | 5 |
| 2014 | 32 | 5.1 |
| 2015 | 30.8 | 4.7 |
Interactive table: Statbank link
The Gini coefficient is the relationship between cumulative shares of the population (ranked according to the level of income from lowest to highest) and the cumulative share of total income received by them. If there was perfect equality (i.e. each person receives the same income) the Gini coefficient would be 0%. A Gini coefficient of 100% would indicate that there was total inequality and the entire national income was in the hands of one person.
In 2015, the Gini coefficient was 30.8%, a statistically significant change on the 2014 value of 32.0%.
The income quintile share ratio is the share of income of the highest quintile i.e. the highest 20%, divided by the share of income of the lowest quintile i.e. the lowest 20%, and was 4.7 in 2015. The corresponding figure was 5.1 in 2014.
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