Fall in Deprivation in 2024 welcome, but is still the reality for almost 830,000 people

The European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN) Ireland today welcomed the latest findings from the CSO showing that the levels of enforced deprivation fell from 17.3% in 2023 to 15.7% in 2024. It highlighted however that levels are still higher than 2021 when 13.7% of people experienced deprivation and that some groups in society continue to experience higher levels. It particularly noted the increase in deprivation for lone parent households, where levels increased to 46.3% in 2024.

Speaking following the Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC): Enforced Deprivation 2024, Paul Ginnell, Director of the European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN) Ireland stated that “We welcome the deprivation figures for 2024 that show fewer people experiencing deprivation, reversing worrying increases in recent years. However, levels are still above pre-covid and the cost-of-living crisis levels, and represent almost 830,000 people who were living in deprivation last year. This is unacceptable by any measure for one of the wealthiest countries in the world.”

“While the new results show an overall fall in 2024, the situation remains consistently bad for some groups in our society which are at particular risk of being marginalised and disadvantaged. This includes lone-parent families, for whom deprivation increased, but also those who are unemployed and those unable to work due to long-standing health problems. You are also four times more likely to experience deprivation if you are renting compared to owning your home. There are also groups not mentioned by the CSO report that we know experience high levels of deprivation. There has been a huge amount of evidence on the causes of poverty over many years and Government needs to step up and take effective action.” said Mr Ginnell.

Mr Ginnell concluded “The information released today also shows that 5.6% of households in 2024 had great difficulty making ends meet, a fall from 6.4% in 2023, but it is still unacceptably high. Difficulty making ends meet has steadily increased for lone parent households with one in five now experiencing great difficulty. In recent years Government has emphasised one-off payments to address the cost-of-living crisis. This may help some people in the short-term, but what is essential if we are to tackle the root causes of poverty and enable people to live with dignity is ensuring adequacy of incomes through benchmarking them against the cost of living and investing in the public provision of key services so they are affordable to all.”

Key findings from the Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC): Enforced Deprivation 2024:

• The percentage of people living in enforced deprivation decreased from 17.3% in 2023 to 15.7% or over 830,000 people in 2024.
• The groups most likely to experience enforced deprivation in 2024 were those living in single-adult households with children under 18 (46.3%); unable to work due to long-standing health problems (38.5%); unemployed (37.8%); and those living in rented or rent-free accommodation (31.5%).
• The percentage of people unable to afford to keep their home adequately warm dropped from 7.2% in 2023 to 4.9% in 2024.
• The percentage of people who were unable to afford new (not second-hand clothes) went down from 8.1% in 2023 to 6.2% in 2024.
• The percentage of people unable to afford two pairs of properly fitting shoes increased marginally from 2.0% in 2023 to 2.3% in 2024.
• Being unable to afford a meal with meat chicken or fish every second day increased marginally from 1.6% in 2023 to 1.8% in 2024.
• The percentage of people living in households composed of a single adult with one or more children under 18 years who were unable to afford a roast joint (or its equivalent) once a week went up from 7.5% in 2023 to 13.5% in 2024, similar to their 2022 rate (12.1%).
• The percentage of households reporting great difficulty in making ends meet rose from 5.5% in 2022 to 6.4% in 2023 and dropped to 5.6% in 2024.
• Just over half (51.7%) of households had adequate savings to maintain the same standard of living for at least three months.
• Almost three in ten households in 2024 (29.5%) regarded housing costs as a heavy financial burden, down from 30.6% in 2023.
• Analysis by tenure status shows that 10.7% of rented households had great difficulty in making ends meet in 2024 compared with 3.2% of owner-occupied households.

ENDS

Contact: Paul Ginnell, Director: paul@eapn.ie

NOTES

• Spokesperson in available for interview.
• The European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN) Ireland is a network of 150 local, regional and national anti-poverty organisations and individuals. It is the Irish national network of the European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN), which links groups fighting for the eradication of poverty across Europe. The Mission of EAPN Ireland is: ‘To put the eradication of poverty at the top of the Irish and European policy agenda and empower groups working to end poverty to understand and influence policy-making.’
• The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (11 March 2025) issued results from the Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC): Enforced Deprivation 2024. The Survey results are available here. Table is available below.

Deprivation items

Households that are excluded and marginalised from consuming goods and services which are considered the norm for other people in society, due to an inability to afford them, are considered to be deprived. The identification of the marginalised or deprived is currently achieved on the basis of a set of eleven basic deprivation indicators. Those who experience two or more of the following items are considered to be experiencing enforced deprivation:

• Without heating at some stage in the last year
• Unable to afford a morning, afternoon, or evening out in last fortnight
• Unable to afford two pairs of properly fitting shoes in good condition that are suitable for daily activities
• Unable to afford a roast once a week
• Unable to afford a meal with meat, chicken, fish, or vegetarian equivalent every second day
• Unable to afford new (not second-hand) clothes
• Unable to afford a warm waterproof coat
• Unable to afford to keep the home adequately warm
• Unable to afford to replace any worn out furniture
• Unable to afford to have family or friends for a drink or a meal once a month
• Unable to afford to buy presents for family or friends at least once a year

Enforced Deprivation Rate 2024 Table