Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) 2024

At Risk of Poverty

In SILC 2024, the at risk of poverty rate was 11.7%, a 1.1 percentage point increase on the SILC 2023 estimate of 10.6%. This 2024 figure is lower than the SILC 2022 estimate of 12.5% and the SILC 2021 estimate of 11.8%.  

An individual 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. See At Risk of Poverty Indicators Explained (PDF 1,094KB) .

The at risk of poverty threshold increased by 8.7% to €17,998 in SILC 2024 while the equivalised disposable income rose to a lesser extent for individuals in groups who were most likely to be at risk of poverty (e.g. those unable to work due to long-standing health problems, single adult households 65 years plus, single adult households with children aged under 18 etc.), thus moving some individuals in these groups over the at risk of poverty threshold and increasing the at risk of poverty rate in SILC 2024. This is analysed further below. See figure 5.1 and table 5.1.

Persons in the Northern and Western region were most likely to be at risk of poverty in SILC 2024, with almost one in five (18.9%) of individuals in this region having equivalised disposable income below the at risk of poverty threshold. Just over one in ten were at risk of poverty in the Southern region (10.7%) and Eastern and Midland region (9.8%). See figure 5.2 and table 5.1. 

Persons with higher levels of educational attainment are less likely to be at risk of poverty in SILC 2024. Over one in four (26.3%) persons whose highest level of education was primary or below were at risk of poverty in 2024 while just under one in five (17.3%) with lower secondary education and one in ten with higher secondary (10.4%) and third level non-degree (10.1%) were at risk of poverty. Those persons who had attained a third level education or above were least likely to be at risk of poverty with under one in twenty (4.2%) being at risk of poverty in SILC 2024. See figure 5.3 and table 5.1.

Enforced Deprivation

In 2024 the enforced deprivation results were published in a separate release.  See SILC: Enforced Deprivation 2024.

In SILC 2024, 15.7% of the population were defined as living in enforced deprivation, i.e. had experienced two or more of the eleven types of deprivation indicators. This compares with 17.3% in 2023 and 16.6% in 2022. 

The enforced deprivation rate for those at risk of poverty was 43.1% in SILC 2024 compared with 33.8% in 2023.  The deprivation rate for those not at risk of poverty was 12.1% in 2024, compared with 15.4% in 2023.  In SILC 2024 there was a convergence between those who were at risk of relative income poverty and those who were experiencing enforced deprivation, reversing the divergence that was seen in SILC 2023. This is in part due to the increased proportion of individuals in lower equivalised income deciles who experienced enforced deprivation in 2024 and a reduced proportion of individuals in middle equivalised income deciles who experienced enforced deprivation. See table 5.5 and PxStat table SIA79.

Consistent Poverty

The consistent poverty measure is defined as the proportion of people who are both at risk of poverty and experiencing enforced deprivation.  The consistent poverty rate in SILC 2024 was 5.0%, compared with 3.6% for the previous year.  See figure 5.4 and table 5.1.

In SILC 2024, the at risk of poverty rate increased, while the enforced deprivation rate decreased. However, the overlap between the two grew, leading to a rise in the consistent poverty rate, thus there was a convergence between those at risk of poverty and those experiencing enforced deprivation. For instance, the proportion of individuals in the first equivalised income decile facing enforced deprivation rose from 33.7% in SILC 2023 to 46.0% in 2024, while it declined from 25.1% to 12.2% in the fifth decile. This suggests that a higher share of those at risk of poverty are now experiencing enforced deprivation, whereas fewer individuals not at risk of poverty are affected. Across the income distribution, enforced deprivation increased in the first decile but declined in the 2nd to 7th deciles, reinforcing the greater overlap between poverty risk and deprivation in 2024 compared to 2023. See figure 5.5, table 5.4 and PxStat table SIA79.

One in three unemployed persons are at risk of poverty

An analysis by socio-demographic characteristics shows that those most at risk of poverty in SILC 2024 were those individuals who described their Principal Economic Status (PES) as unemployed (34.1%), followed by those persons unable to work due to long-standing health problems (32.5%). This compares with an at risk of poverty rate of 5.4% for those that described themselves as employed. 

With the exception of those persons in employment, the risk of poverty increased across all Principal Economic Status groups in SILC 2024. The at risk of poverty rate for persons who stated their PES as fulfilling domestic tasks increased by the greatest extent, rising by 10.3 percentage points in the year to 26.9%. The at risk of poverty rate rose by 8.6 and 5.2 percentage points respectively for those who describe themselves as unemployed and unable to work due to long-standing health problems. The at risk of poverty rate decreased by 0.4 percentage points for those in employment.  

For persons of working age, the risk of poverty, deprivation and consistent poverty tends to be correlated with employment status. An analysis by PES shows that the consistent poverty rate was highest among persons unable to work due to long-standing health problems (19.0%) and the unemployed (18.9%), while it was lowest amongst those who were employed (1.7%). See figure 5.6 and table 5.1. 

As outlined in the previous chapter, SILC respondents’ PES is self-defined at the time of interview (first six months of 2024), whereas their income reference period is the calendar year 2023, therefore reported income may not be perfectly aligned with PES. Measures put in place to mitigate the economic impact of the cost-of-living crisis contributed to the decrease in the at risk of poverty rate for respondents in SILC 2024, see Chapter 6 Impact of Cost of Living Measures on Poverty and Income for more analysis of this.

Looking at the profile of the population, in SILC 2024 2.4% of persons described their PES as unemployed, while these unemployed persons represented 7.0% of those who were at risk of poverty and 9.0% of those in consistent poverty.  

Persons who describe themselves as unable to work due to long-standing health problems, represented 4.0% of persons in SILC 2024, while these persons represented 11.0% of those who were at risk of poverty and 15.0% of those in consistent poverty. See table 5.3. 

In SILC 2024, 48.3% of persons defined themselves as being employed, while employed persons made up 22.3% of people that were at risk of poverty, 35.9% of those experiencing enforced deprivation and 16.3% of those in consistent poverty. See figure 5.7 and table 5.3. 

Risk of poverty increases while enforced deprivation falls for people aged 65 years+  

By age group, persons aged under 18 years (15.3%) had the highest at risk of poverty rate in SILC 2024, followed by those aged 65 years and over (13.3%). Those aged 18 to 34 years had the lowest at risk of poverty rate of 8.8%. 

Those defined as being at risk of poverty and aged under 18 years increased by 1 percentage point in the year to 2024, while the enforced deprivation rate decreased slightly (-0.2 p.p.). The overlap between those at risk of poverty and those experiencing enforced deprivation increased most significantly, thus the consistent poverty rate for this age group increased 3.7 percentage points.  

Those aged 65 years and over were more likely to be at risk of poverty in 2024 than in 2023 with the rate increasing by 5.0 percentage points. The risk of experiencing enforced deprivation fell for this group by 3 percentage points in 2024. The consistent poverty rate for these persons 65 years and over increased by 0.6 percentage points in the year. See table 5.1. 

By household composition, the at risk of poverty rate was highest in households composed of one adult aged 65 years and over (25.9%), followed by one adult households with children aged under 18 (24.2%). The rate was lowest for those living in households with two adults, both aged under 65 (5.0%).  

Analysis by household composition shows that persons living in households comprised of one adult households with children and persons living in households with one adult aged less than 65 years had the highest consistent poverty rates (11.0 and 10.1% respectively). Persons living in two adult households, where at least one adult was aged 65 years or older, had the lowest consistent poverty rate at 1.6%. See figure 5.8 and table 5.1.

The relationship between the at risk of poverty rate and the enforced deprivation rate by household composition illustrates a variety of trends. Households with two adults with one to three children saw both their risk of poverty rate and risk of experiencing enforced deprivation rate decrease by 1.6 and 1.5 percentage points. Despite these falls the overlap between poverty and enforced deprivation increased, leading to an increase in consistent poverty of 1.5 percentage points to 6% for this group in SILC 2024.

Household groups consisting of one adult aged 65 years and over; two adults, at least one aged 65 years or over; three adult households and other households with children aged under 18 all saw their risk of poverty increase, their enforced deprivation decrease and the overlap between the two go up thus increasing their consistent poverty. See figure 5.9 and table 5.1. 

The at risk of poverty, enforced deprivation and consistent poverty rates tend to follow a downward trajectory as the number of employed persons within a household increase. For persons living in households where no one is at work, the consistent poverty rate was 16.2% in SILC 2024, compared with 6.6% for those living in households with one person at work, 1.5% for those in households with two persons at work and 0.3% for those in households with three or more persons at work. 

In terms of tenure status, the at risk of poverty rate increased by 2.1 percentage points to 21.8% in 2024 for those living in rented or rent-free accommodation, while the enforced deprivation rate decreased by 5.0 percentage points to 31.5%. Despite these divergent trends the consistent poverty rate increased by 4 percentage points in the year to 12.5%. The consistent poverty rate for those living in owner-occupied dwellings was 1.7% up from 1.4% in SILC 2023. See figure 5.10 and table 5.1.

Seven in ten persons experiencing consistent poverty are living in rented or rent-free accommodation 

Looking at the profile of the population, while 30.6% of the population are living in rented or rent-free accommodation, such people make up 56.9% of those at risk of poverty and 76.0% of those living in consistent poverty in SILC 2024. See figure 5.11 and table 5.3. 

At Risk of Poverty Rate after Deducting Rent and Mortgage Interest

The at risk of poverty rate after deducting rent and mortgage interest is used to help analyse inequalities in housing costs and their impact on poverty risk. Using the standard at risk of poverty threshold (€17,998 in SILC 2024), if rent and mortgage interest payments were deducted from income the at risk of poverty rate would have been 17.9%, 6.2 percentage points higher than without the deduction. See the Background Notes for full technical details. 

Analysis by tenure shows that after deducting rent paid, two in five (40.6%) of those that stated they lived in accommodation rented or rent-free accommodation would have been at risk of poverty. 

For those that stated they from the Local Authority 43.4% would have been at risk of poverty after deducting rent paid. The at risk of poverty rate for those living in accommodation rented with other forms of social housing supports such as the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP), Rent Supplement and the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS), was 57.3% when rent was deducted from disposable income. For persons living in accommodation rented without housing supports, the at risk of poverty rate was 35.5% after deducting rent paid. See figure 5.12 and table 5.6.