Irish Examiner view: Frustration at RTÉ magnified by cost-of-living crisis

A study found that one third of the population are “just getting by” financially, which helps explain the anger underpinning the public frustration with the ongoing tales of financial irresponsibility at RTÉ.

Although unemployment is at 3.8%, 12% of people admit that they would only be able to cover costs for a month if they were hit by 'income shock'.

The reality of everyday life and the illusion of economic statistics came were in close contact earlier this week with eye-watering revelations about how many people in Ireland are struggling to keep their heads above water.

A study by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has found that one third of the population are “just getting by” financially. In addition, 12% admit they would only be able to cover their costs for a single month if they were hit by an “income shock”.

However, as an economy, Ireland appears to be doing very well — we are currently close to full employment, with the unemployment rate for June remaining unchanged compared to the previous month, at 3.8%.

Rising inflation and interest rates, not to mention the ongoing war in Ukraine, are having an impact on people’s income levels, both in combination and separately, but it is surely significant that so many people are in such a precarious financial situation while employment levels are so high.

The study’s results mean that unflattering conclusions can be drawn about the nature and quality of some of that employment. Taken together with the ongoing crisis in housing and accommodation, we are seeing a huge proportion of an entire generation of people to whom “just getting by” is a permanent state of being.

As for those who fear the impact of an “income shock”, it was gloomily apposite to see the results of an Irish League of Credit Unions survey earlier this week.

With parents now spending an average of €1,152 per primary school child, and €1,288 per child in post-primary, more than one in four parents (29%) said they would be getting into debt sending their child back to school. Could there be a better working definition of an “income shock”, one made all the more punishing because it rolls around every year?

Such revelations are heartbreaking enough on their own terms, but they also explain the anger underpinning the public frustration with the ongoing tales of financial irresponsibility in RTÉ. This a reality light years away from the world of barter accounts.