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Essential minimum living costs have increased nationally by almost 20 per cent in the past five years, a new report has revealed.
The Minimum Essential Standard of Living (MESL) report was published on Tuesday by the Vincentian MESL Research Centre at the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SVP). It found that living costs in Ireland have increased by 1.8 per cent in the past year and 18.8 per cent since 2020.
The report highlights that those on social welfare are not receiving enough to reach the minimum essential standard of living, which are services necessary to meet physical, psychological and social needs. And one-parent households are most at risk of financial inadequacy.
As an example, the report noted that a one-parent household with a primary and second-level child only meets 82 per cent of the household’s minimum needs when dependent on social welfare support. The cost of the needs of a child aged 12 and over remains the highest age group at €158 per week. Social welfare meets just 64 per cent of needs for this age group.
The cost of the needs of a primary school age child is €98, while the needs of a preschool-age child costs €72 per week. Saint Vincent de Paul has also stressed that the national minimum wage – which is €13.50 an hour for workers over the age of 20 – “continues to be a concern”.
Since last year, the minimum outgoings for a single adult in minimum wage full-time employment has risen by 5.6 per cent. A worker in this scenario is making €131 less a week than they need to to meet minimum needs.
The report has cited rising private rents in Dublin and an increase in home energy and food costs for this rise. In conclusion, the report highlighted that many household situations, particularly when reliant on social welfare, continue to be at risk of income inadequacy.
It continued: “This is especially pronounced for single-adult households and families with older children. Although recent policy measures, such as the introduction of the New Baby Grant and the expansion of school meals and book schemes, have had a positive impact, they are not sufficient to close the gap for all household types.”
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