Technical paper on minimum essential standards of living, poverty and deprivation in Ireland

In this technical paper, we use the Vincentian MESL Research Centre’s measure of household expenditure needs and explore the relationship between that indicator and household income, dependence on social transfers, poverty measures, and financial stress. Using the MESL thresholds for essential expenditure needs, which are calculated for a wide range of household types, the paper explores: 1) What is the overlap between household income, income poverty and living under one’s basic expenditure needs? And 2) Which groups of the population are least likely to reach a minimum essential standard of living, and which groups living below their expenditure needs are not identified as being in poverty on official measures? Using data from the Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) and from the Vincentian MESL Research Centre, we find that only a relatively small share of people do not meet their expenditure needs. However, this share is significantly higher for groups that are vulnerable to poverty including children, tenants, lone parents, and single working age adults. For those that are not meeting their expenditure needs, their level of dependence on social transfers is very high. This study thus confirms the critical role played by social welfare income to guarantee a minimum essential standard of living to vulnerable households and families that are highly dependent on social transfers.