Education is key to breaking the link between poverty in childhood and poverty and material deprivation in later life, according to a new study from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ERSI).
Data from 2019 shows the likelihood of deprivation in adulthood was 35 percentage points higher among individuals who grew up in poverty when compared to individuals who grew up in “very good” financial circumstances, the report said.
Irish and EU data from 2005, 2011, and 2019 was analysed by the ESRI for a report funded by Pobal, a government agency involved in the promotion of social inclusion and equality. The analysis found that the influence of childhood poverty becomes less pronounced with age, but persists even for individuals in their 50s.
“Poverty during childhood is associated with lower educational attainment and poorer employment prospects,” according to the report. “Policies that seek to reduce persistent inequalities in educational outcomes, from early childhood through to higher education, are crucial. This includes access to high quality early education, additional supports for the most disadvantaged schools and children, and measures to ensure greater equality of access to third-level institutions.”
More than a quarter of the association between childhood poverty and adult deprivation is accounted for by educational attainment, followed by low rates of employment, and disability and ill-health.
The influence of employment status on intergenerational poverty, the report said, highlighted the importance of training and labour market supports, especially for those at greater risk of unemployment.
“Measures to reduce the wide inequalities in labour market opportunities for those with disabilities are also identified as a means of addressing the intergenerational persistence of poverty.”
The study found that during 2011 and 2019 the proportion of Irish respondents to surveys who experienced poverty during childhood was the same as the EU-27 average: 13 per cent in 2011, and 9 per cent in 2019.
The proportion of people in the EU-27 who experienced childhood poverty and went on to experience deprivation in adulthood fell from 33 per cent to 25 per cent in the period 2011 to 2019. In Ireland the equivalent fall was from 37 per cent to 31 per cent.
Ireland has one of the lowest levels of inequality among the EU-27 with respect to obtaining third level education, though the gap is still substantial, the report said. In 2019 across the EU-27, 19 per cent of those who experienced childhood poverty attained third level education in adulthood, compared with 44 per cent for those who grew up in advantaged financial circumstances. The respective figures for Ireland were 39 per cent and 71 per cent.
The report notes that previous research in Ireland has highlighted the much higher risk of intergenerational poverty and deprivation among certain groups, including lone parents, those with a disability, those with low levels of education, children, migrants and Travellers.
