Statistical Yearbook of Ireland 2021: Part 1 People and Society

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Link to publication: Survey on Income and Living Conditions

The percentage of people considered to be experiencing ‘enforced deprivation’, is defined as not being able to afford two or more basics, such as going without heating in the past year, or being unable to afford items such as two pairs of strong shoes, a warm waterproof coat or a meal with meat, chicken or fish every second day.

Link to publication: Survey on Income and Living Conditions

The most common types of deprivation experienced at an overall level were:

Figure 8.2 displays the proportion of total income received by each quintile (or 20% of the population).

The share of total income received in 2019 by the 20% of the population with the lowest income (bottom quintile) was 9.3%. By comparison, the total income received by the 20% of population with the highest income (top quintile) in 2019 was 38.0%, a multiple of 4.1. In other words, the bottom quintile have to work for 4.1 years to generate the same income that the top quintile receive in one year.

Each year since 2004, the Survey on Income and Living Conditions collects data from households in Ireland. Some results relating to ownership of various household appliances and dwelling features were published in 2020, illustrating how homes in Ireland have changed in the last 16 years.

In 2004, just over one in every two households (50.5%) possessed a computer in their home.  In 2019, the figure stood at 77.9%.  The proportion of households that couldn’t afford to own a computer decreased from 12.5% in 2004 to 3.4% in 2019

The share of households that have double or triple glazing in their dwelling has increased steadily from 70.5% in 2004 to 94.2% in 2019.

In 2019, 25.0% of households reported having a garage, compared with a high of 34.6% in 2004.  Looking at the differences between urban and rural areas, over one in every two (51.4%) households in rural areas had a garage in 2019, compared with just one in eight (12.7%) households in urban areas.

Access to Services

Between 2011 and 2019, respondents were asked about their self-perceived ease in accessing local services.  Rural households have greater difficulty accessing services.

In 2019, one in ten (10.7%) urban households said they had some or great difficulty accessing primary health care services (such as a General Practitioner (GP), a primary health centre, a casualty department or similar, where first-aid treatment could be received), compared with almost four in ten (37.9%) rural households.

Rural households were more likely to report having some or great difficulty accessing a bank (44.2%) or post office (33.1%) in 2019, compared with urban households at 16.8% and 8.8% respectively.

 

This module explores if a person's household circumstances as a teenager are associated with poverty indicators in later life.  It is based on answers from people aged 25-59 about their life situation when they were about 14 years old.

The education level of parents is associated with the education of their children.  Respondents were more likely to attain a third level education if either parent had also done so, 77.9% attained a third level education if at least one of their parents had done so compared with 27.2% of those whose parents had a lower secondary education or below.  See Figure 8.5.

 

Respondents who as teenagers lived in households with no working parents were more likely to be at risk of poverty as adults in 2019 (20.6%), compared with those that lived in households with two working parents (7.1%).  See Figure 8.6

 

Respondents who described the financial situation of their teenage home as bad were more likely to be at risk of poverty or living in enforced deprivation as an adult in 2019.  Where the financial situation in the teenage home was bad, the at risk of poverty rate for adults in 2019 was 18.2% and the enforced deprivation rate was 39.0%.  In contrast, where the financial situation in the teenage home was good the at risk of poverty rate for adults in 2019 was 8.4% while the enforced deprivation rate was 10.1%.  See Figure 8.7 

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