Mr. Niall Egan:

There are three components to the way we measure poverty within Ireland. There is the median income component, which is the people at risk of poverty. If someone is below that level, they are at risk of poverty. Then there is deprivation, where people have to answer 11 questions such as if they can afford to replace a piece of furniture, afford to eat meat a number of times a week or afford a second winter coat or a second pair of shoes. They are questions like that and if they answer "No" to two of those questions they are categorised by the CSO as in deprivation. The overlap between those in deprivation and at risk of poverty leaves us with the measure of consistent poverty. The questions the Deputy is alluding to in terms of social welfare recipients and what they can afford would be picked up not just by the at risk of poverty level but by the deprivation questions that the CSO carries out.