[Ireland] Highest levels of poverty in border counties and west

From Ireland On Line

People living in local authority housing are five times more likely to face poverty than any other group and their situation is worsening, a survey by the Combat Poverty agency revealed today.

The agency called on the Government to provide more integrated social housing and described its failure to date to reserve 20% of new developments for social and affordable housing as very disappointing.

Combat Poverty made the call as it launched the report – Mapping Poverty: National, Regional and County Patterns – carried out by the Economic and Social Research Institute.

The survey, which looked at the regional and county breakdown of poverty, found the highest levels of deprivation were in the border counties and the west.

Donegal had the highest rate of poverty, at almost twice the national average, measured on a series of criteria including incomes, housing, local environment, the ability to pay bills and afford various household items.

The survey also found the countryside and villages had slightly higher poverty than other areas, particularly Dublin and Ireland’s larger cities, but that the capital scored badly in terms of housing and environmental deprivation.

In addition to the poverty faced by local authority tenants, people living in private rented accommodation were at an above average risk of deprivation, the report said.

Helen Johnston, director of Combat Poverty, said the factors which dictated whether people were at risk of poverty were largely socio-economic.

“Where there’s high unemployment, low pay, low participation in the labour force, low levels of education, that’s what is driving the distribution of poverty throughout the state,” she said.

“Border and western areas include counties with the highest percentages of elderly residents, the lowest levels of educational attainment, the highest incidence of small farming activity and high levels of economic dependency,” she said.

“The peace programme also operates in the Border regions and has made a difference at a local level, but at the macro level more investment and resources in this area is required,” she added.

She said there was a need to address the structural causes of poverty, with policy on health, education and housing all being driven on a national level.

Targets set by the Government to combat poverty were robust, but the policies to achieve the targets needed to be strengthened, she said.

She said it was also important to tackle deprivation on a local level, with integration of services and outreach work.

“We’re talking particularly of local authority estates, where we need to look at estate management, community development and community participation, to support communities, to improve neighbourhoods and lift people out of poverty.”

She called on the Government to increase the supply of social housing and to look at how it was provided, to ensure it was more integrated and supported by public and community services to combat poverty.

“We would be very disappointed that they haven’t implemented the 20% and that hasn’t come to fruition in the way we wanted,” she said.

Jim Walsh, head of research with Combat Poverty, said more social housing was only part of the solution to the problem of deprivation.

“If you’re building more social housing, you’ve got to do something for people’s prospects,” he said.

Asked he if thought people would be open to the prospect of greater integration, he said: “We can keep our divides but what will the costs be?

“There’s a leadership challenge to foster integration, because it’s a form of social apartheid.”