People living in ‘very or extremely disadvantaged’ areas up by a third

The number of people living in areas classed as very or extremely disadvantaged has increased by more than a third since 2016, according to a major report.

The 2022 Pobal HP Deprivation Index, which is Ireland’s primary social gradient tool, found the gap between Ireland’s most disadvantaged areas and the national average has increased over the period.

The index used data from Census 2022, analysing 10 measures of an area’s levels of disadvantage. These included educational attainment, employment status and the numbers living in individual households.

Almost 19,000 small areas of 50-200 households were indexed, leading to the development of a detailed map of relative affluence and disadvantage around the country.

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The index found a nationwide improvement in measures such as employment and population growth, with levels largely returning to those observed as far back as pre-crash 2006. However, “persistent disadvantage remains” for many communities.

The report found the number of people living in areas classed as very or extremely disadvantaged has increased from 143,506 individuals to 195,992 since 2016.

Nationwide, there have been improvements in the majority of communities driven by measures such as employment and population growth, which overall has seen Ireland return to 2006 levels, the report noted.

However, many disadvantaged communities have not seen the same level of improvement, putting them further from the average in relative terms.

“Disadvantaged communities experience significantly higher levels of unemployment and low educational attainment, with higher rates of lone parents evident,” the report said.

“Urban areas contain the highest proportion of both highly disadvantaged and highly affluent areas, while rural areas tend to see less of these extremes.”

Disadvantage is disproportionately experienced in small pockets in Dublin city centre, north and west suburbs, on the outskirts of Cork, Waterford and Limerick and in a small number of rural towns.

Relative affluence, as measured by the index, continues to be seen in south Dublin and in the commuter belts surrounding Dublin, Cork and Galway.

However, the report concluded that new housing developments outside cities are leading to new areas of affluence being recorded outside of traditional suburban areas.

Pobal chief executive Anna Shakespeare said the index highlighted an “overall improvement” for the majority of communities in Ireland.

“However, we must also recognise that this is not being experienced equally,” she said. “The distribution of disadvantage across the country has remained largely similar to previous years, which highlights that this a long-term and entrenched phenomenon.”

The report will be launched on Thursday by Minister of State for Community Development Joe O’Brien.

“This index provides policymakers and communities with the opportunity to understand where disadvantage still exists in our society today,” he said.

“This information is invaluable as it allows for effective planning and the targeting of resources in ways that have a positive and lasting impact.”