Three quarters of a million in poverty in Ireland

Three quarters of a million people are living in poverty in Ireland. Of these 230,000 are children. Poverty in rural Ireland is 4.5 percentage points higher than in urban Ireland. Poverty could and should be eliminated in a few years if it were a policy priority. 

The creation of decent, well-paid jobs will go a long way towards addressing poverty but it will not resolve the problem. Almost 100,000 people with jobs are still living in poverty.  In the run up to the election Social Justice Ireland has produced a short briefing on poverty outlining some key challenges and policy recommendations. To read more on this issue please click here.