PRESS STATEMENT -March 19^th 2026

• SILC DATA FOCUSES ATTENTION ON WHERE GOVERNMENT PRIORTIES SHOULD LIE
• NEW ANTI-POVERTY STRATEGY NEEDS TO CHANGE COURSE
• ANNUAL SOCIAL INCLUSION FORUM MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER

‘The publication of the CSO’s annual Survey of Income & Living Conditions (SILC) 2025 last week was a depressing read,’ said EAPN Ireland, in a statement issued today.

‘Consistent poverty levels of 4.7% broadly unchanged from last year, are more than twice the target outlined in the Roadmap for Social Inclusion,  of 2% or less. This represents hundreds of thousands of people struggling to make ends meet. In a country with substantial levels of growth and almost full employment, this cannot continue. Ensuring that all citizens are free from suffering from hunger or cold due to a lack of food, clothing or shelter, as was the first goal of the first Dail in relation to children, must be made a reality. The only thing that stands in the way is a lack of political will,’ according to EAPN’s Director, James Casey.

Mr. Casey continued, ‘There is much focus on insecurity in the world, but people are made safe, first and foremost by having the economic means and social services that enables them to live a dignified life. This has to be prioritised in a whole of Government approach.’

EAPN’s Policy Officer, Clare Daly, said, ‘ The SILC data shows that we need to change tack. Poverty elimination, rather than reduction must be the goal. The new Anti-Poverty Strategy, due out later this year has to gear all efforts towards this goal. We need to go back to basics, ensuring income adequacy, a level below which nobody should be expected to live. This can be delivered by benching marking social levels to the MESL index, automatically adjusted for the cost of living. Combined with the expansion of public services, and targets measures directed at the structural reasons why some groups are more likely to experience poverty than others.

She concluded, ‘The data elevates the importance of this year’s annual Social Inclusion Forum which is taking place in the Aviva Stadium on May 27^th. Preparatory workshops are currently taking place hosted by EAPN Ireland and Community Work Ireland, in association with the Department of Social Protection and we call on all organisations and individuals affected to come along and have their say in outlining the policies that are working and the areas that urgently need to be addressed.’

For More Information contact; enquiries@eapn.ie