Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

A drop in unemployment figures is always welcome but some of those who are now employed are working on wages that do not allow them to live in dignity; it is not a living wage.

Returning to the measure, within the EU, poverty is measured by using relative income poverty lines which involves working out an average or median household income. However, there is a limitation in that regard. In choosing a cut-off point, it is arbitrary and it does not take other factors into account - for example, how far below the poverty threshold people are and the length of time that people have been poor. Therefore, we are not getting a comprehensive picture of the intensity, duration and persistence of poverty and there is a need for other measures that would provide a holistic approach to give a true picture of poverty.

I referred to children living in consistent poverty and we know from the organisations working with them that there has been an increase. That did not happen by accident but came about because of Government policy. If poverty and inequality are to be really reduced and not only statistically, then the Government needs that comprehensive accurate information to guide policy and that is not coming from the current framework for measuring poverty. As long as that continues, the disconnect will also continue between what the statistics say and the reality on the ground.

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