John Gormley
Question:133 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the factors that have caused a rise in relative poverty. [24297/03]
Vol. 573 No. 1
133 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the factors that have caused a rise in relative poverty. [24297/03]
Relative income poverty is defined by reference to an income threshold set at a particular percentage of average – mean or median – income, adjusted for family size and composition using equivalence scales. In Ireland, data on the levels of relative income poverty have been derived from analysis of the results of the Living in Ireland Survey undertaken by the Economic and Social Research Institute.
A wide range of factors influence the levels of income poverty at any given point in time. They include: earnings levels; patterns of household formation; the direction of tax and welfare policies; employment and unemployment levels; employment structures; and the level of recourse to welfare supports generally. These interact in a highly dynamic environment and the relative impacts will inevitably change at different points of the economic cycle.