Irish lone parents and people with a disability are the most deprived of 11 EU countries

The deprivation gap in Ireland between vulnerable citizens — such as lone parents and people with a disability — and other adults is the largest of a group of 11 EU countries and for more than a decade.

A study launched today also found that the deprivation gap in that decade increased the most in Ireland, compared with those other 11 EU countries, which include Britain, France, and Spain.

One-third of lone parents, and a fifth of adults with a disability, in Ireland are persistently deprived.

The research, conducted by Dorothy Watson of the Economic and Social Research Institute, looked at the years 2004 to 2015, encompassing the peak of the Celtic Tiger boom, the economic crash, and the first years of the recovery.

The persistent-deprivation rate is 26 percentage points higher among lone parents, and 14 percentage points higher among adults with a disability, than for other adults in Ireland.

That rate compared unfavourably to the other countries included in the study: in Britain, the gap is 23 percentage points higher among lone adults, and 11 percentage points higher for those with a disability. Across the remaining nine countries, the average gap is 16 and eight percentage points, respectively.

In Ireland and Britain, the persistent deprivation gap between vulnerable adults and other, non-vulnerable adults increased significantly over time, which did not happen in the other nine countries.

The Irish component of the study was mined from longitudinal data contained in the EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions Survey for 2005-2006, 2008-2009, and 2013-2014.

It noted that deprivation is always highest among lone parents and adults with a disability, even in countries with generous welfare systems and a low, overall rate of deprivation.

However, when compared with the other countries in the EU, the Irish figures paint a bleak picture. While, on average, across the 11 countries and the three periods, 23% of lone parents, and 14% of adults with a disability, are persistently deprived, compared with 5% of other working-age adults, in Ireland, 33% of lone parents, and 21% of adults with a disability, are persistently deprived.

The study suggests that policies that reduce poverty among the general population are not as effective with vulnerable groups, who might need more targeted interventions, such as access to affordable childcare, flexible work arrangements, and protection of secondary benefits.

Prof Watson said: “Proactive steps are required to address the deprivation experienced by lone parents and adults with disabilities, and also to tackle the higher rate of child poverty associated with these households.

"Such interventions are particularly urgent in Ireland, as the data show that the deprivation gap is most pronounced here.”

Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection Regina Doherty will launch the report today, and she said work needs to be done to ensure a continuation of recent trends, which show a fall in headline, consistent poverty.