Welfare and pension increases contributed to a significant decrease in the number of older people and lone parents at risk of poverty last year, new figures indicate.
However, despite much progress in tackling deprivation, Ireland continues to have one of the highest rates of people at risk of poverty in the EU.
The proportion of people at risk of poverty - individuals living on a weekly income of up to €193 or 60 per cent of the median national income - dropped from almost 20 per cent in 2004 to 18.5 per cent last year.
The figures are contained in an EU survey on income and living conditions for 2005, and published yesterday by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The most substantial decrease was recorded among older people, where the number at risk of poverty fell from 27 per cent to 20 per cent.
The main reason for the fall appears to be the rise in pensions in last year's budget, which provided for a weekly increase of €16 for non-contributory pensioners and €14 for other pensioners.
The proportion of lone parents at risk of poverty last year fell from 48 per cent in 2004 to 41 per cent last year.
This decrease may also be related to an increase in social welfare rates, according to CSO officials.
However, lone parents continue to have the highest deprivation levels in the State. Other high-risk groups include the unemployed, the ill and disabled. All these groups have recorded a fall in the proportion that are at risk of poverty in recent years.
Using the consistent poverty measure (see panel), the number of people experiencing deprivation remained relatively unchanged at 7 per cent last year, up just 0.2 per cent over 2004.
This method of measuring poverty is favoured by Minister for Social and Family Affairs Séamus Brennan, who has said the numbers of those at risk of poverty measure is flawed and overstates the extent of poverty in Ireland.
At the launch of the figures yesterday, CSO director Gerry O'Hanlon said he did not see either consistent poverty or relative poverty as measures which should compete against each other.
Instead, he said, they complemented each other by showing different aspects of deprivation. Relative poverty helped to give an impression of income inequality, while consistent poverty provided greater detail on material deprivation.
Mr Brennan yesterday welcomed the figures which, he said, showed that efforts to target the most at risk groups were paying off.
Fr Seán Healy of the Conference of Religious of Ireland's (Cori) justice commission, said the figures were encouraging, but much remained to be done.
"They do indicate progress, but they also show the scale of the problem that still has to be addressed. The welfare increases are having an impact, which is all the more reason for the Government to deliver on its pledge to raise welfare rates significantly in the forthcoming budget."
The European Anti-Poverty Network said the figures showed that the Government had a long way to go to reach its target of reducing consistent poverty to 2 per cent by 2007.
The network's Robin Hanan said a new national anti-poverty plan should seek to try and eradicate consistent poverty.
