Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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80. To ask the Taoiseach if it would be possible for the CSO, drawing on SILC data, to create a new measurement of ‘consistent poverty (after housing costs)’, which would combine households at risk of poverty after housing costs and households in material deprivation, in the same fashion as the existing measurement ‘consistent poverty. [62184/25]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The At Risk of Poverty (AROP) rate is derived from the EU Survey on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) and measures the proportion of people whose equivalised disposable income is below 60 per cent of the national median income. In Ireland, the AROP indicator is a key national poverty measure and is calculated before housing costs, in line with Eurostat requirements, to ensure comparability between Member States.

In addition to the standard measure of at risk of poverty, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) produces a supplementary national indicator known as the At Risk of Poverty rate after Rent and Mortgage Interest. This indicator adjusts disposable income to account for housing payments that are directly linked to housing tenure, namely rent and mortgage interest. It provides an additional perspective on poverty by reflecting the impact of these housing costs on household disposable income.

The At Risk of Poverty after Rent and Mortgage Interest indicator is defined as the proportion of people whose equivalised net disposable income, after the deduction of rent and mortgage interest payments, falls below 60 per cent of the median equivalised net disposable income. It is published annually by the CSO alongside the main SILC results. The indicator is not part of the harmonised EU set of social inclusion indicators but is recognised nationally as an important supplementary measure for understanding poverty in Ireland.

In constructing the At Risk of Poverty after Rent and Mortgage Interest indicator, only rent and mortgage interest are deducted from disposable income. Rent is included because it is a regular, essential and measurable expense directly related to securing accommodation. Mortgage interest is included because it represents the recurring cost of housing for owner-occupiers with a mortgage. Mortgage capital (principal) repayments are excluded because they represent asset accumulation rather than consumption expenditure. Other housing-related expenses such as utilities, insurance or maintenance are not deducted.

The At Risk of Poverty after Rent and Mortgage Interest indicator is conceptually similar to the broader At Risk of Poverty after Housing Costs measure used in other countries, such as the United Kingdom. The broader At Risk of Poverty after Housing Costs, deduct a wider set of housing costs from net disposable income before calculating the risk of poverty. This indicator is currently not published by the CSO. The CSO is committed to meeting the data needs of users and if At Risk of Poverty after Housing Costs is requested the CSO will endeavour to develop such a measure and make it available to the public. Once developed, the At Risk of Poverty after Housing Costs could be utilised to produce a national estimate of Consistent Poverty after Housing Costs and made available to the public.

Eurostat publish estimates of At Risk of Poverty rates after housing costs for member states based upon EU-SILC on their database. This indicator is available for Ireland using Eurostat’s income definitions, which differ slightly from our national income definitions. The Consistent Poverty rate after Housing Costs is not however produced by Eurostat.

Oversight of indicator developments from EU-SILC in Ireland takes place through the Technical Advisory Group (TAG). Members of the TAG include the CSO and representatives from the Department of Social Protection, the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, the Economic and Social Research Institute, academics and other experts as required. The group provides technical and policy advice on survey content, indicator definitions, and methodological issues. It also reviews proposals for new or supplementary indicators to ensure national relevance and compliance with EU-SILC standards.