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Social Inclusion

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The Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) in Ireland is a household survey covering a broad range of issues in relation to income and living conditions. It is the official source of data on household and individual income and also provides a number of key national poverty indicators, such as the at risk of poverty rate and the consistent poverty rate. SILC was conducted by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) for the first time in 2003 under EU legislation (Council regulation No. 1177/2003). The survey is currently being conducted on an annual basis in order to monitor changes in income and living conditions over time. This chapter presents the 2014 results along with comparative information for previous years. The survey is also carried out in other EU member states allowing comparable statistics to be compiled on a pan-European basis.

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X-axis labelHousehold disposable incomeEquivalised disposable income per individual
2006836.44406.84
2007919.66452.47
2008939.89467.24
2009880.78447.03
2010826.96424.26
2011801.43410.88
2012776.26399.69
2013786.86404.49
2014810.4416.21
8.1 Average weekly household and individual disposable income by year

Interactive table: StatBank link  

Weekly equivalised disposable income per person was €416.21 in 2014, an increase of 2.9% on the 2013 value of €404.49 and a decline of 10.9% from a peak of €467.24 in 2008. 

Weekly household disposable income in 2014 was €810.40, an increase of 3.0% on the 2013 value.  Household disposable income peaked in 2008 at €939.89 and decreased by 13.8% between 2008 and 2014.

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At risk of povertyDeprivationConsistent povertyDeprivation rate for those at risk of poverty
200617146.638.6
200716.511.85.131.1
200814.413.74.229.1
200914.117.15.538.8
201014.722.66.342.9
20111624.56.943.2
201216.526.97.746.8
201315.230.58.253.9
201416.329849.3
8.2 Poverty and deprivation rates by year

Interactive table: StatBank link

The graph shows ’at risk of poverty’, deprivation and consistent poverty rates by year from 2006 to 2014. 

The 'at risk of poverty rate' was 16.3% in 2014, not a statistically significant change on the 2013 rate of 15.2%.

Enforced deprivation was experienced by 29% of the population, down from 30.5% in 2013.

The deprivation rate for those at risk of poverty was 49.3% in 2014 compared with 53.9% in 2013 and a low of 29.1% in 2008.

The consistent poverty rate was 8.0% in 2014 compared to 8.2% in 2013.  Consistent poverty rates have been increasing since 2008 when the rate was 4.2%.

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Gini coefficient (%)Quintile share ratio
200532.35
200632.44.9
200731.74.8
200830.64.5
200929.34.3
201031.44.8
201131.14.9
201231.25
201331.34.8
201431.85
8.3 Indicators of income inequality by year

The Gini coefficient is the relationship between cumulative shares of the population (ranked according to the level of income from lowest to highest) and the cumulative share of total income received by them.  If there was perfect equality (i.e. each person receives the same income) the Gini coefficient would be 0%.  A Gini coefficient of 100% would indicate that there was total inequality and the entire national income was in the hands of one person. 

In 2014, the Gini coefficient was 31.8%, not a statistically significant change on the 2013 value of 31.3%.

The income quintile share ratio is the share of income of the highest quintile i.e. the highest 20%, divided by the share of income of the lowest quintile i.e. the lowest 20%, and was 5.0 in 2014.  The corresponding figure was 4.8 in 2013.

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