Essential minimum living costs in Ireland increased by almost 20% since 2020
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."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
06-08-2025
- Irish Independent
Poaching of property executive Owens shows competition heating up between Dundrum and Blanchardstown
Falcon AM, the asset management company which operates Blanchardstown Centre, has hired Mr Owens as its CEO, a similar position to the one he held heading up the Ireland operation at Hammerson PLC, where he had responsibility for three of Ireland's major shopping centres: Dundrum Town Centre, the Ilac Centre and Swords Pavilions. In that role, he revitalised Hammerson's Irish portfolio by attracting new anchors and diversifying income through introduction of more leisure and food and beverage brands. This diversification will be enhanced by Hammerson's imminent completion of a 122 rental apartment scheme in Dundrum. Mr Owens also secured one of the largest property refinances in Europe in 2025 with a €350m debt facility secured on Dundrum. However, his ambitions were thwarted when An Coimisiún Pleanála refused permission for the replacement of Dundrum's older shopping centre with an 800-plus new apartment scheme. Prior to joining Hammerson, Mr Owens was head of asset management and recovery at Nama where he managed a multi-billion euro Irish and international real estate and non-performing loan portfolio. Blanchardstown Centre was acquired last year by Strategic Value Partners (SVP), the US investment firm, some of whose assets are managed by Falcon. SVP paid about €562m for the retail complex which covers 1.2 million sqft and houses over 180 shops and restaurants. That was a substantial discount to previous prices paid for the centre. Anders Hemmingsen, managing director of commercial real estate at SVP, said: 'Connor's deep industry knowledge, proven track record in strategic leadership, and his exceptional ability to drive value in complex real estate environments make him the ideal leader to deliver the next phase of Blanchardstown Centre's growth and development.' To support Mr Owens in his new role, Falcon has also promoted Aoife Foley as chief financial officer of Falcon. She has been finance controller. Bernard Nulty has been appointed as chief operating officer leading asset and property management functions. He has been on the asset management team at Falcon AM since 2019 and oversaw Blanchardstown Centre's portfolio.
Irish Independent
15-07-2025
- Irish Independent
Saint Vincent de Paul in Wicklow on food price rises and how they help local families
David Loane, who is SVP area president for Wicklow and covers the region from Bray down as far as Arklow, said the 'cost of living is certainly a much bigger issue this year'. Where energy bills were the biggest challenge in recent years, particularly after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, he said 'we're noticing a lot more people now looking for help with food – just food, basic food". 'If you just look at the basic basket of food – meat, butter, cheap dairy, bread – all of those items have gone up significantly in the past 12 months,' David said. 'While the Consumer Price Index (CPI) produced a rate of inflation which looks as if it's okay, it just doesn't reflect what's happening in the shopping basket,' he added. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) last week confirmed the rate of food inflation since June last year has been higher than the general rise in prices across the economy. Food inflation rose by 4.6pc, more than double that of the general CPI, which rose by 1.8 per cent in the same period. For example, the national average price of full fat milk per two litres was up 27 cents, butter rose by €1.10 per pound and the average price of Irish cheddar per kilogramme increased by 95 cents. A white sliced pan increased by six cents in the year to June 2025. "We're seeing a much wider spectrum of people contacting us,' David continued. 'Typically in the past we've had people who were on low income, people on low social welfare or social protection payments, who run into an unexpected crisis like the washing machine breaks or whatever, and we'd have to help them out. 'But now we're seeing people who traditionally you would have thought should be okay because they're earning a reasonable wage. But they're struggling. It's definitely the food, the increase in price of food, which has suddenly catapulted over the past 12 months. 'Now a lot of people are reducing the amount they're buying and they're maybe going for less branded goods to try and cut down on the cost. Certainly the requests we're getting are more and more for help with food vouchers.' Food vouchers are the donation of choice and have replaced the traditional food parcels, so people can make their own decisions as to what they buy. The SVP still has to buy the food vouchers, and some supermarkets give a discount of 5pc, but it's not enough to meet the demand. "Probably that's about the extent of what we get in terms of help from the main supermarkets on the voucher of buying it,' David said, adding that the levels of donation in recent years to the society has taken a hit too, 'because people don't have the money to give, or they're trying to spread it around to other deserving charities as well'. ADVERTISEMENT Aside from handing out food vouchers, imparting advice is also a big part of what the SVP volunteers do, as a way of helping struggling families budget better. 'If people are struggling and there's very little food, we don't think twice about it, we just give them vouchers. Now, if they're consistently coming back to us, we may then do a more in-depth analysis of what's going on. Because we can't afford to become another branch of the Department of Social Protection in handing out kind of weekly help. We'd be out of money fairly quickly. "We go and meet them and chat to them and see, first of all, if we can help them with the budgeting side of their income. So what are they spending their money on? And is there a better way that they can budget? And many of them are very open to that. 'Typically this time of the year, we would see a dip in the request for help, you know, kids are off school, summer months, and things would quiet down. But things haven't quietened down this summer. I'd say requests for help are up about 20pc. I think that graph is continuing to project upwards. 'I read a recent quote recently where someone described it quite accurately – you could see two cars in the driveway, but nothing in the fridge. It's the unseen poverty that's going on, where people are really struggling. And because they're working, they don't think they should ever contact the Society of Vincent DePaul. But actually, they need as much help as some of the people we are helping.' David added that very often, 'the complexity of the request for help can be quite distressing'. The Government's 'ongoing failure' to tackle the cost of groceries was recently highlighted by Wicklow Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore, who warned families across the county 'are being left behind while supermarket giants continue to profit'. 'Since 2021, grocery prices have risen by a staggering 36pc,' she told the Dail on Wednesday, July 9. 'That's an extra €3,000 a year on the average family's food bill. This is not just inflation, it's a crisis,' she said. 'Every family in Wicklow is feeling the pinch. They know exactly what they're sacrificing from their household budgets just to keep food on the table. And yet, the Government continues to sit on its hands. In 2023, the Government promised to get a handle on this issue. The minister talked tough and said prices would come down. That hasn't happened. Families are still waiting.' Her party brought forward a proposal to seek more transparency, to find out 'who is making the profits, and on whose backs'. 'We called on the Government to regulate the big profit-makers just a little more. To put in place basic transparency measures so we can see where the money is going and why prices are rising. This isn't about small corner shops or local retailers. It's about the five major supermarket chains in Ireland, Dunnes, Tesco, Aldi, Lidl, and SuperValu,' she said. "The grocery sector is worth €15bn. It's an incredibly profitable industry. And yet, the Government refuses to ask these giants to publish even the most basic data. They refuse to step up to the plate and demand accountability.' David believes there could be some assistance provided by the State but unlike where one-off payments were given in the past to help with energy bills across the board, 'they could target the people who really need it the most'.
Irish Examiner
15-07-2025
- Irish Examiner
Charity calls for targeted measures to help financially insecure families with soaring cost of living
Irish families have been left exposed to growing financial insecurity linked to the spiralling cost of living, and targeted measures must support them in this autumn's budget, a leading charity has said. In its pre-budget submission, the Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) said with one-off-measures for all households now a thing of the past, it was vital to get the approach right to help families who need it most, as it expects to receive 250,000 calls for help this year. 'Poverty in a wealthy country like Ireland is a policy failure, but our next budget offers a vital opportunity to put financial certainty and dignity at the heart of Government decision-making,' SVP's head of social policy Louise Bayliss said. Rising poverty and homelessness rates should not be happening in a wealthy country with a growing economy. The charity said the core adult social protection rate must be increased by €16 a week, while increases should also be made to the Living Alone Allowance and the introduction of a weekly cost of disability payment to cover the additional costs facing people with a disability. Child income supports should also be increased, according to SVP, as current rates fall 'significantly short of what is needed". Other measures it called for included the benchmarking of third-level student grants with the cost of living, increasing the fuel allowance by €9.50 a week, and the piloting of a community energy advice service. The charity's national president Rose McGowan said the latest figures on poverty, which show around 45,000 more children are now living in consistent poverty in Ireland, demonstrate the clear need for action. 'These are not abstract statistics — they represent children growing up in cold bedrooms, going to school hungry, and missing out on the social and educational experiences that are fundamental to a healthy childhood,' she said. 'We know from our experience on the frontline that the right policy choices do make a difference — we saw it with the introduction of free schoolbooks and hot school meals. Budget 2026 must continue that momentum.' Read More MABS sees 10% surge in families in debt due to soaring cost of living
