Introduction

This chapter examines the extent of food poverty in Ireland, including trends over time, and provides a comparative quantitative analysis of Ireland with EU15. A review of food poverty indicators in Ireland is undertaken, based on an analysis of the latest secondary data available, including recent evidence regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis explores the characteristics of those experiencing food poverty in Ireland and considers factors that may predict food poverty. These data align with the timing of the interviews of food bank users. The chapter then focuses on comparing Ireland with other EU15 countries. Following a discussion of the results in the context of previous research, the conclusion summarises the key messages.

Prevalence of food poverty in Ireland, 2006– 18

Two sources providing comparable data on food poverty are the EUSILC and an OECD survey carried out by Gallup World Poll. Data on food insecurity in European countries were obtained from the UN FAO. Background on the secondary analysis of survey data in this study is set out in Appendix 1.

Figure 4.1 provides an overview of the four food- related deprivation items from EU-SILC in 2006, 2013 and 2018, which allows an assessment of food poverty in Ireland between 2006 and 2018. This timespan straddled a period of economic growth, followed by the onset of recession in 2008 and subsequent emerging recovery. Overall, it confirms that food poverty increased in the period to 2013, at least partly reflecting the impact of Ireland’s recession on living standards. This is evidenced by the significant increases in all 11 deprivation indicators measured in the same period (Central Statistics Office [CSO], 2015: 17). In 2018, the four food deprivation indicators recorded an improvement, which was consistent with the developing economic recovery.

The four items each increased significantly during the seven-year period to 2013, before commencing a downward trajectory. The social aspect of food poverty is at a significantly higher level than the other items. The proportion reporting inability to afford to have family or friends for a meal or drink was up from 10.7 per cent in 2006 to 18.7 per cent in 2013, falling back to 12.6 per cent for 2018.