Poverty hit rural Ireland hardest

Rural Ireland has higher poverty rates, fewer jobs, lower incomes, and access to fewer public services than urban areas, according to the latest economic review by Social Justice Ireland (SJI).

“Poverty is more likely to occur in rural areas than urban areas,” said SJI director Sean Healy at the launch yesterday of Choices for Equity and Sustainability, the organisation’s socio-economic review for 2016.

“The poverty rate in rural Ireland is 4.5 percentage points higher than in urban Ireland. The border, midlands, and western region has the highest poverty rate and the lowest median income in the State.