Irish women have the highest risk of poverty among women in all the 25 European Union states, according to a new report published today.
The report, Women and Men in Ireland 2004, says the proportion of women at risk of poverty in the State was 23 per cent in 2001, compared to 20 per cent for men. This compares with EU rates of 14 per cent for men and 17 per cent of women. The figures are compiled from recent findings in an ESRI report.
According to the figures, women's hourly earnings were just 82.5 per cent of men's once adjustments had been made for the normal number of hours worked.
In addition, the proportion of lone-parent families with children under 20 that are headed by women has increased from around 87 per cent in 1995 to over 90 per cent in 2004.
Ireland also falls well below the EU average in terms of its gender balance among elected representatives. Just 13.3 per cent of TDs in the Dáil are women, compared to the average rate of 22.1 per cent among the 25 EU states.
Ireland is way down the list, coming 18th out of the 25 states in this area. Sweden is top in terms of female representation in the national parliament, with some 45.3 per cent of its representation made up of women.
Sweden, Denmark, Finland and The Netherlands are top of the list, while Malta, Hungary, Lithuania and Cyprus are one the bottom rungs of the ladder.
The report finds that women continue to have a greater life expectancy than men. Life expectancy rates at birth were 75.1 years for men and 80.3 years for women in 2001-2003. These were broadly similar to the average EU rates of 74.8 years for men and 81.1 years for women.
Men are more likely to die at a younger age than women, with the difference in risk particularly high in the 15-24 age group. The report says this reflects a greater tendency for young men to commit suicide and to be victims of motor crashes.
However, the CSO pointed out that the rate at which Irish women were undergoing preventative medical examinations, such as smear tests, in 2002, was considerably lower than for women in the other EU member states.
Just 16.4 per cent of Irish women aged 15 and over were undergoing the tests compared to 32 per cent of their EU counterparts. The proportion for ovarian examinations was just 2.8 per cent of Irish women compared to 16.6 per cent at EU level.
The new report draws its statistics from up to 40 different sources, including Irish statistics and EU databases, using the most up to date figures available.
A spokesman for the CSO said the Women and Menreport was prepared as a specific request arising from the social partnership discussions.