More than one million people in Ireland say they are struggling to make ends meet according to a recent study by Behaviour & Attitudes, a Dublin-based market research organisation. If an unexpected expense of €1,000 befell someone today, for example a medical emergency, a family crisis or a problem with the car, it could not be paid for by two in five people. Further, four in five people say they have less money in their pockets compared to this time a year ago and more than one third are economising on food.
Likewise, many will be concerned how far the electricity subsidies will stretch through the rest of the winter, how repayments on loans will be met, and how the rent will be paid.
The Society of St Vincent de Paul issued a statement in November 2022 to state that they were deeply concerned but unfortunately not surprised by new data from the Central Statistics Office which shows a sharp increase in the number of households going without essentials. The Survey of Income and Living Conditions shows an estimated 875,000 people going without basic items such as adequate heating, nutritious food and suitable clothing in the first half of 2022. This is an additional 184,000 people compared to 2021.
Likewise, the living wage in Ireland rose recently to €13.85 per hour, according to a group of researchers, academics and social justice groups known as the Living Wage Technical Group (LWTG). This is €2.55 higher than the national minimum wage of €11.30 and a 7.4 per cent increase from the 2021/22 living wage rate of €12.90 per hour. The LWTG said the living wage reflects the price pressures faced by employees in the State and the latest increase was determined by changes in living costs and income taxes.
Last month, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar announced that the Low Pay Commission had set an indicative living wage for 2023 of €13.10 per hour. It is planned that the living wage will be phased in between now and 2026 when it will become mandatory. Over the past year living costs have increased for almost all the areas of expenditure included in the calculation, the LWTG said.
However, in spite of the growing cost of living crisis, there remains in Ireland, a lack of robust research and a dearth of reporting in relation to the issue. This problem was highlighted recently by Paul Joyce, a senior policy analyst at FLAC who argues that for, “a growing number of Irish households…the numbers just don’t add up”.
“In a period of high inflation where the cost of living has got out of hand, when interest rates are rising and affordable housing options are so thin on the ground, one would think that providing detailed information on the current extent of the problem would be the first step in managing a coherent response.”
Paul Joyce emphasises that, “whatever the reasons, failing to measure the extent of the problem is unlikely to lead to adopting the required solutions”.
It is clear Ireland needs to firstly, understand the scale of the problem through analysis of detailed information on the extent of the issues in order to lead a coherent and timely response to make a real difference for those feeling the worst effects of a growing cost of living crisis.