Consistent poverty is defined as experiencing both low income and enforced deprivation simultaneously. Specifically, it identifies individuals living in a household with an income below 60% of the median (at risk of poverty At Risk Of Poverty) and who cannot afford at least two out of eleven basic, and seen as essential items.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) which are responsible for the publication of official statistics, including poverty statistics, produces the At Risk Of Poverty (AROP), the risk of deprivation and the consistent poverty statistic. These are the official poverty statistics in Ireland and have been used in the context of the current and previous Roadmaps for Social Inclusion as well as measuring child poverty over an extended period of time. The continued use of the official statistics enables historical trends to be accurately identified and to monitor and report on progress in tackling poverty.
The Child Poverty target of 3% or less of children in consistent poverty, is not an annual target, rather it is to be achieved by the end of 2030. The annual publication of the Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) by the CSO each year includes the latest consistent poverty rate for children and is used to measure progress towards achieving the child poverty target.
The CSO does not produce the AROP rate after housing costs. The CSO does however produce the at-risk-of-poverty rate after mortgage interest and rents. CSO figures show that the at-risk-of-poverty rate overall for 0- to 17-year-olds is 15.3%. After mortgage interest and rent are taken into account the at-risk-of-poverty rate for this age cohort rises to 23.8%. But these figures are not used to produce a different consistent poverty rate. But I do fully recognise that housing costs are a significant expense for very many families and households and am happy for my Department to continue to monitor the poverty statistics of AROP after mortgage interest and rents.
The Department remains committed to using the officially published consistent poverty statistics by the CSO to track progress on tackling poverty and child poverty.
