Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 1 July 2026
207. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection his response to the 'at risk of poverty rate' for persons aged 65 years and over, recorded in the Central Statistics Office Survey on Income and Living Conditions 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50066/26]
View answer213. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection his response to the at risk of poverty rate for persons aged 65 years and over, recorded in the Central Statistics Office Survey on Income and Living Conditions 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50169/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 207 and 213 together.
The Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) provides the official poverty data for Ireland. The most recent survey results (SILC 2025) were published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on 11 March 2026.
SILC 2025 shows that the at risk of poverty rate for older people (aged 65 years and over) was 14.8%, which is above the at risk of poverty rate for the whole population (12.6%).
However, when combined with the enforced deprivation rate (9.8% for older people), the consistent poverty rate for older people is 3.4%. This is lower than the national rate of 4.7%. Indeed, SILC data also show that the consistent poverty rate for older people has been repeatedly lower than that for other ages groups since 2020.
Data from SILC 2025 also highlights the protective effect that social transfers have on the at risk of poverty rate for older people. Without social transfers, the at risk of poverty rate would have been 61.4%. Social transfers reduced this rate to 14.8%. This represents a 75.9% reduction on the at risk of poverty rate for older people in 2025. Ireland is consistently one of the best performing EU countries in reducing poverty through social transfers.
It should be noted that SILC 2025 data is based on 2024 incomes; therefore it does not take account of Budget 2025 or Budget 2026 measures, which included increases to the weekly rate of all state pensions.
The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2026–2030 is the national strategy for poverty reduction and social inclusion. It aims to reduce consistent poverty to 2% or lower by the end of 2030; reduce income inequality; and make Ireland one of the most socially inclusive countries in the European Union.
The Roadmap acknowledges the need to ensure income adequacy for those most impacted by poverty, and commits to protect core social protection rates including for older people. This commitment aims to see at risk of poverty rates for older people reduce over the duration of the Roadmap.
