In March 2026, the CSO published Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) 2025. The release focused on poverty and income indicators and results were published by demographic and other characteristics.
A person is defined as being at risk of poverty if their nominal equivalised disposable income is under the at risk of poverty threshold, i.e. 60% of the median nominal equivalised disposable income for the State. The 2025 at risk of poverty threshold was €19,060. See At Risk of Poverty Indicators Explained (PDF 1,094KB) .
The SILC contains questions required for the Minimum European Health Module (MEHM) enabling analysis of poverty status for respondents aged 16 years and older by:
The Editor’s Note in the Key Findings section of this report describes the questions used to derive the GALI status of survey respondents aged 16 years and older, self-perceived general health status and chronic morbidity status.
In 2025, the at risk of poverty rate for people aged 16 years and older was 11.7%, slightly up from 10.8% in 2024. The at risk of poverty rate of those who perceived their general health as ‘very bad’ was 27.4%, three times the rate of those with a ‘very good’ perception of their health (8.8%). There was a nearly 2 percentage point increase in the at risk of poverty rate from the 2024 figure of 25.5%, for those who perceived their general health as ‘very bad’. See figure 3.1 and table 3.1.
The at risk of poverty rate for people with a self-reported chronic illness was 15.6%, more than five percentage points higher than the rate for those without a chronic illness (9.9%). See figure 3.2 and table 3.2.
Over double the proportion of people aged 16 years and older with long-standing severe activity limitations due to health problems were at risk of poverty in 2025 compared to those persons who were not limited at all (20.8% and 9.8% respectively). The comparable rate for those ‘limited but not severely’ was 17.7%. See figure 3.3 and table 3.3.
The consistent poverty measure is defined as people who are both at risk of poverty and experiencing enforced deprivation. The consistent poverty rate for people aged 16 years and older was 4.0% in SILC 2025 unchanged from the previous year. See figure 3.4 and table 3.4.
Analysis by self-perceived general health status shows that consistent poverty rates increase with worsening general health. The consistent poverty rate for people who perceived their general health as ‘bad’ was over eight times higher than for people with ‘very good’ health (17.0% and 2.1% respectively). The consistent poverty rate for those who perceived their general health as ‘very bad’ increased by 2.3 percentage points between 2024 and 2025 (6.3% and 8.6% respectively). See figure 3.4 and table 3.4.
The consistent poverty rate for those who reported a chronic illness was 6.7% compared with 2.8% of people without a chronic illness. See figure 3.5 and table 3.5.
The 2025, the consistent poverty rate for people ‘severely limited’ in usual activities was over three times higher than the rate for those ‘not limited’ (9.9% and 2.7% respectively). The consistent poverty rate for people ‘limited but not severely’ was 8.6%, an increase from 7.0% in 2024. See figure 3.6 and table 3.6.
In 2024, the Government continued its implementation of a suite of cost-of-living measures aimed at helping households meet higher costs of living. The annual average rate of inflation in 2024 was +1.7%. The largest price increases were recorded for Restaurants & Hotels at 3.7%. For further information see Consumer Price Index December 2024.
In this section, at risk of poverty rates in SILC 2025 (calendar year 2024) are calculated ‘excluding cost-of-living measures’ (what at risk of poverty rates would have been if cost-of-living measures were not implemented in 2024). ‘Excluding cost-of-living measures’ calculates the at risk of poverty rate (using the standard at risk of poverty threshold of €19,060).
The cost-of-living measures that were considered when calculating poverty rates ‘excluding cost-of-living measures’ are listed below.
Budget 2024 contained cost-of-living measures that were paid to individuals and households during 2024. Budget cost-of-living measures that were paid/implemented in 2024 included:
Budget 2025 contained additional cost-of-living measures that were paid to individuals and households during the latter part of 2024. Budget cost-of-living measures that were paid/implemented in 2024 included:
The income reference period of SILC in year T is the calendar year T-1, therefore SILC 2025 at risk of poverty rates were calculated using January to December 2024 income. The electricity credits that households received in 2024 are treated as income in the SILC survey.
The cost-of-living measures decreased the poverty rates for persons aged 16 years and over across all self-reported health status categories in 2025. The at risk of poverty rate for those reporting ‘very bad’ general health in 2025 was 27.4%, whereas, if the cost-of-living measures were excluded the rate would have been 31.0%. See figure 3.7 and table 3.7.
The at risk of poverty rate for people with a self-reported chronic illness was 15.6%. However, if the cost-of-living measures are excluded from income, the at risk of poverty rate would have been over three and a half percentage points higher at 19.3%. Cost-of-living measures reduced the at risk of poverty rate for those without a chronic illness to a lesser extent. The at risk of poverty rate for people without a self-reported chronic illness was 9.9%, without cost-of-living measures the rate would have been 11.8%. See figure 3.8 and table 3.8.
Similarly, cost-of-living measures had a greater impact on reducing the poverty rate of persons ‘severely limited’ in usual activities when compared with those ‘not limited’. In 2025, the at risk of poverty rate for those ‘severely limited’ was 20.8%, without cost-of-living measures the rate would have been over six percentage points higher at 26.9%. For persons ‘not limited’, their at risk of poverty rate would have been 11.6% without cost-of-living measures compared with their actual at risk of poverty rate of 9.8%. See figure 3.9 and table 3.9.
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