19 December 2017
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today issued results from the Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) for 2016 and comparable data for previous years.
| Table A Summary of main results | |||||
| Income | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
| Nominal Income - Equivalised disposable income per individual | € | € | € | € | € |
| Median | 18,276 | 18,262 | 18,864 | 20,000 | 20,597 |
| Mean | 21,578 | 21,995 | 22,396 | 23,301 | 23,852 |
| At risk of poverty threshold | |||||
| (60% of median income) | 10,966 | 10,957 | 11,318 | 12,000 | 12,358 |
| Real Income1 - Equivalised disposable income per individual | |||||
| Median | 18,276 | 18,078 | 18,623 | 19,772 | 20,379 |
| Mean | 21,578 | 21,773 | 22,109 | 23,035 | 23,599 |
| At risk of poverty threshold | |||||
| (60% of median income) | 10,966 | 10,846 | 11,173 | 11,863 | 12,227 |
| Poverty & deprivation rates | % | % | % | % | % |
| At risk of poverty rate | 17.3 | 16.5 | 17.2 | 16.9 | 16.5 |
| Deprivation rate2 | 26.9 | 30.5 | 29.0 | 25.5 | 21.0 |
| Deprivation rate for those at risk of poverty | 48.9 | 55.1 | 51.2 | 51.5 | 50.7 |
| Consistent poverty rate | 8.5 | 9.1 | 8.8 | 8.7 | 8.3 |
| Income equality indicators | |||||
| Gini coefficient (%) | 31.8 | 32.0 | 32.0 | 30.8 | 30.6 |
| Income quintile share ratio | 5.1 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| 1 Deflator base year 2012. | |||||
| 2 Experienced two or more types of enforced deprivation. | |||||
Commenting on the report Gerry Reilly, Senior Statistician, said: “The SILC household survey 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, the consistent poverty rate and rates of enforced deprivation.
Key findings show that in 2016, the nominal median annual equivalised disposable income was €20,597 representing an increase of 3.0% on the nominal 2015 value of €20,000. This change is statistically significant. In terms of income equality there was no statistically significant change in income distribution when compared to 2015.
The survey also provides insight into poverty in Ireland. The ‘at risk of poverty’ rate, which is the share of persons whose income was less than 60% of the national median income, was 16.5% compared with 16.9% in 2015. This change is not statistically significant.
In addition, the percentage of people considered to be experiencing ‘enforced deprivation’, which is defined as not being able to afford two or more basics, such as going without heating in the past year, or being unable to afford items such as two pairs of strong shoes, a warm waterproof coat or a meal with meat, chicken fish every second day, was 21.0%, down from 25.5% in 2015. This change is statistically significant". he added.
“Finally, the ‘consistent poverty rate’ which includes those persons who are defined as being both at risk of poverty and who are also experiencing enforced deprivation, was 8.3%, not a statistically significant change on the 2015 figure of 8.7%”.
Caitríona O’Brien (+353) 21 453 5777 or Barry O’Leary (+353) 21 453 5018
or email ICW@CSO.ie
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