Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 10 June 2026
17. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the number of households disconnected from electricity supply in each of the past five years due to non-payment of bills; if he will report on trends in energy poverty; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44348/26]
View answerOfficial income and poverty data is published annually by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) in the Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC). This is an annual voluntary survey of approximately 5,000 households (approximately 12,000 individuals) carried out by the CSO.
The survey collects information on the income and living conditions of different households in Ireland, in order to derive indicators on poverty, deprivation and social exclusion.
This CSO survey is part of a wider European Union Survey on Income and Living Conditions (EU SILC) carried out in every EU country under EU legislation and published by Eurostat annually. It should be noted that there are slight variations in how the data is evaluated at national and EU levels, therefore the national data is not directly comparable with the EU data.
Additionally, since 2020 the income reference period for SILC is the previous calendar year. For example, the income referenced for the 2025 survey spans the period from January to December 2024.
The most recent national SILC data, for 2025, was published by the CSO in March 2026 and the most recent EU-SILC data was published by Eurostat in April 2026.
The Gini coefficient measures income equality across the entire income distribution. A Gini coefficient value of 0% denotes perfect equality, while a Gini Coefficient of 100% would denote perfect inequality.
The Gini coefficient reported in the EU-SILC by Eurostat for 2026 shows Ireland at 27.2, an improvement from the 2014 rate 31.0. Over this period, Ireland has improved from being slightly above the EU average (30.9 in 2014) to below it (29.2 in 2025). Ireland's ranking compared to other EU countries has also improved over the timeframe, from 17th in 2014 to 8th in 2025.
The quintile share ratio is the ratio of the total equivalised disposable income received by the 20% of persons with the highest income (fifth quintile) to that received by the 20% of persons with the lowest income (first quintile).
The income quintile share ratio for Ireland in 2025 was reported in EU-SILC by Eurostat as 3.9, compared with 4.9 in 2014. This is consistently lower than the EU average - 5.2 in 2014 and 4.6 in 2025. Additionally, there has been an improvement in the Irish ranking compared to other EU countries over this period, from 14th in 2014 to 7th in 2025.
Consistent poverty is the measure used in the National Social Target for Poverty Reduction, which aims to reduce consistent poverty to 2% or less in Ireland by 2030 (as updated in the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2026-2030). Consistent poverty is a national indicator which measures the overlap of two component indicators: the at-risk-of-poverty rate (those whose household income is below 60% of the median) and the enforced deprivation rate (capturing individuals lacking 2 or more of 11 basic necessities). It is not measured at an EU level.
Since 2014, the consistent poverty rate has decreased from 8.3% to 4.7% in 2025 as reported in SILC data. Meanwhile, the at-risk-of-poverty has also decreased over the same period, from 16.7% in 2014 to 12.6% in 2025.
It is very positive to see these improvements across key income and poverty indicators, demonstrating the impact of Government policies, supports and measures, but I am also aware of high levels of poverty for certain groups, such as children, disabled people and lone parents.
Implementation of the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2026-2030 is key to improving income equality and reducing poverty for all groups in society. I will continue to work with my Government colleagues as we strive for further improvements across Government on the key national income and poverty indicators.
