This report presents data from the Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) 2023 which explores the intergenerational transfer of advantages and disadvantages, focusing on how key factors such as parental education, childhood financial circumstances, and parental work status effects poverty and deprivation rates in adulthood. Research shows strong links between the educational attainment of parents and their children’s socio-economic mobility, highlighting how a higher level of parental education can provide greater opportunities for future generations (See ESRI report on Intergenerational Poverty in Ireland). Furthermore, this report demonstrates a significant link between parents' employment status during childhood and adult poverty, highlighting the significant impact of socio-economic conditions on present circumstances. This report is confined to respondents aged 25-59 years and who lived with at least one parent when they were approximately 14 years old.
An individual is defined as being at risk of poverty if their nominal equivalised disposable income is under the at risk of poverty threshold. The 2023 at risk of poverty threshold was €16,558. Enforced deprivation is where an individual is living in a household experiencing two or more of the eleven types of deprivation. Consistent poverty is defined as individuals who are both at risk of poverty and experiencing enforced deprivation. Further information on these indicators is available in a note on the At Risk of Poverty Indicators Explained (PDF 1,094KB) .
In SILC 2023, respondents aged 25-59 were asked to state certain circumstances of their home lives when they were approximately 14 years old. They were asked to provide the highest level of education attained by the parent(s) they were living with when they were teenagers. Educational attainment was categorised into three groups: lower secondary education or below (Low); upper secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education (Medium); third level education (High). In a case where a respondent lived with both parents when they were a teenager and where the highest level of education differed between both parents, the parent with the higher level of education was used in this analysis. In this section we compare the educational attainment of parents with the poverty and deprivation rates of their children in adulthood.
Analysis of the results shows that respondents whose parents had a low level of education, have a higher risk of poverty and are more likely to be living in enforced deprivation or consistent poverty, compared to those whose parents had a higher level of education (See Figure 2.1 and PxStat Table SID14).
| X-axis label | Lower secondary or below | Upper secondary & post-secondary non-tertiary | Third level | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| At Risk of Poverty | 13 | 6.7 | 7 | 9.1 |
| Deprivation | 25.1 | 11 | 12.2 | 16.5 |
| Consistent Poverty | 5.9 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 3.7 |
In SILC 2023, the at risk of poverty rate for people aged 25-59 was 9.1%. The at risk of poverty rate for those whose parents had a low level of education was 13.0%, six percentage points higher than the rate for those who had at least one parent with a third level education (7.0%) (See Figure 2.1 and PxStat Table SID14).
The overall rate of enforced deprivation for those aged 25-59 in SILC 2023 was 16.5%. The enforced deprivation rate in SILC 2023 was significantly higher for those whose parents had a low level of education when compared with those whose parents had at least an upper secondary education. One in four (25.1%) respondents with parents with low level education were living in enforced deprivation compared to 11.0% and 12.2% of those with parents with a medium and high level of education.
Furthermore, the consistent poverty rate was also higher for respondents whose parents had a lower level of educational attainment when compared to those with parents with a medium and high level of educational attainment, 5.9% compared with 2.3% and 2.1% respectively. The overall consistent poverty rate for those aged 25-59 was 3.7% in SILC 2023.
Respondents were asked to provide information on the work status of both their parents when the respondent was a teenager. Work status of parents is defined as either at work, (employed and self-employed) or not at work, (everyone else).
The at risk of poverty rate in SILC 2023 was four times higher for those where neither of their parents were employed when they were a teenager (34.4%), compared to those who had one parent (8.9%) and two parents employed (7.0%) (See Figure 2.2 and PxStat Table SID15).
| X-axis label | No parent at work | One parent at work | Two parents at work |
|---|---|---|---|
| At risk of poverty | 34.4 | 8.9 | 7 |
| Deprivation | 32.5 | 17.8 | 11.8 |
| Consistent poverty | 15.9 | 3.6 | 2.3 |
Individuals who had no parent working during their childhood were more likely to be living in enforced deprivation in 2023 compared to those who had at least one parent working during their childhood. One in three (32.5%) of those whose parents were not employed were living in enforced deprivation in 2023 compared to one in six (17.8%) who had one parent working and one in eight (11.8%) who had both parents working during their childhood.
The consistent poverty rate was 15.9% for respondents where neither parent worked when the respondent was around 14 years old, seven times higher than the rate for respondents where both parents were employed (2.3%).
SILC 2023 respondents aged 25-59 were asked to rate the financial situation of their teenage home, with six possible responses ranging from very good to very bad. For this report, the responses have been re-grouped into three categories: Good (very good & good), moderate (moderately good & moderately bad) and bad (bad & very bad).
The results show that adults who experienced bad financial circumstances during their childhood were more likely to be at risk of poverty, be living in enforced deprivation and be in consistent poverty in adulthood, compared to those who experienced good financial circumstances during childhood (See Figure 2.3 and PxStat Table SID16).
| X-axis label | Bad | Moderate | Good |
|---|---|---|---|
| At risk of poverty | 16 | 7.6 | 8.3 |
| Deprivation | 34.9 | 14.9 | 10.3 |
| Consistent poverty | 8.1 | 3.2 | 2.1 |
Individuals were twice as likely to be at risk of poverty in 2023 if they experienced bad financial circumstances in childhood (16.0%), compared to those who experienced good financial circumstances (8.3%). Furthermore, those who grew up experiencing bad financial circumstances were three times more likely to be living in enforced deprivation (34.9%), compared to those who grew up experiencing good financial circumstances (10.3%) (See Figure 2.3 and PxStat Table SID16).
Respondents aged 25-59 were asked about the presence of both their mother and father in their family home.
Respondents who lived with one parent were more likely to be at risk of poverty in 2023 compared to those who lived with both parents present, 10.0% compared to 8.6% respectively. Similar trends were observed in enforced deprivation and consistent poverty rates (See Figure 2.4 and PxStat Table SID17).
| X-axis label | One parent | Two parents |
|---|---|---|
| At risk of poverty | 10 | 8.6 |
| Deprivation | 19.5 | 15.1 |
| Consistent poverty | 4.9 | 3.2 |
Lone parent households are consistently found to be amongst the households with the lowest annual income and those most at risk of poverty, enforced deprivation and consistent poverty (See PxStat Table SIA192).
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