Technical paper on the measure of basic deprivation and consistent poverty in Ireland

In this technical paper, we use Irish SILC data for 2019 to assess the validity of the existing deprivation and consistent poverty measures. Currently, the Central Statistics Office, the Irish Government, and researchers use an 11-item indicator to capture deprivation and consistent poverty in Ireland. We test the validity of this measure by running the original 2006 analysis (based on SILC 2004) using 2019 SILC data and comparing the results. We find that, in terms of reliability, a 15-item measure is a slight improvement on the 11-item measure proposed in 2006. However, we also find that the original 11-item measure captures deprivation well and has reliable internal consistency and validity. The differences between the 11-item measure and our proposed 15-item measure are minor and hardly sufficient to justify loss of continuity over time. Researchers should continue using the 11-item measure.