Report warns of 'welfare failures'
Low income households are struggling to make ends meet, a new report has found
Low-income households are struggling to meet a basic standard of living.
A new report revealed people who rely on social welfare or the national minimum wage do not have enough money to cover everyday needs.
Co-author Sr Bernadette MacMahon, of the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice, said the study shines a light on the income that is needed for a minimum essential standard of living across a spectrum of household types.
"It demonstrates that many households in situations of reliance on social welfare or the national minimum wage live with an insufficient income," she said. "Income inadequacy means many households live below a level which has been defined as socially acceptable by Irish society."
The year-long study by Trinity College's Policy Institute and the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice was part funded by the Department of Social Protection.
It found the income of an urban household with two adults and two children who live on unemployment benefits is only sufficient when both youngsters are of pre-school age.
At all other stages income is inadequate and peaks at a weekly shortfall of 168 euro when one child is at second level and one is 19.
But for a single income family, the combination of the minimum wage and benefits is adequate until at least one child reaches the second level school age group. The shortfall for a single, female pensioner can be as much as 105 euro.
Sr Bernadette added: "Failure to ground the national minimum wage and social welfare transfers in a tangible measure of adequacy, such as defined in this research, means that poverty and social exclusion will continue to be a reality in Ireland."
The study - A Minimum Income Standard for Ireland - researched the weekly cost of living for a single person, a two parent household with two children, a single parent household with two children, a pensioner couple, and a female pensioner living alone.
Press Association
