A Review of The National Poverty Indicators and Ireland’s Poverty Performances in a European Perspective

This is a continuation of the series of projects funded by the Department of Social Protection using the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) and Irish SILC data for 2018 and 2021. For the current project we look at two pieces of research. In the first piece of research, we provide a review of the poverty and social inclusion indicators that are used by the Irish Government for poverty reduction and social inclusion targets. We give a brief overview of Ireland’s progress on the social inclusion goals and targets set in the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025. Additionally, we discuss the advantages and limitations of the chosen indicators and, where relevant, propose additional or alternative indicators.

Some of the targets from the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025 that are based on the EU indicators focus in improving Ireland’s ranking position between 2018 and 2025, mostly aiming to make Ireland one of the top five best performers in the EU on most of these indicators. In the second project we will examine Ireland’s progress in a European perspective. We will look at Ireland’s performance on each of these indicators across the EU since 2018 and if Ireland’s relative performance is driven by internal or external changes. The analysis will also identify the populations that are most vulnerable on these indicators and whether this differs cross nationally. The report will highlight the best performing countries in protecting the most vulnerable (lone parents, people with disabilities etc.) across these indicators.