The State We Are In - Inequality in Ireland 2025
Official poverty statistics point to progress, but the story beneath is more troubling. Temporary cost-of-living supports have obscured the poverty and structural inequality present in Ireland. These short-term gains can risk misleading policymakers unless viewed in the full context of enduring deprivation and systemic disadvantage.
The State We Are In: Inequality in Ireland 2025, TASC’s flagship annual report, positions inequality as a central challenge for both economic research and policymaking. It argues that Ireland’s experience reflects wider global patterns, while also being shaped by local dynamics. This year’s report examines the significant but temporary return of cost-of-living supports and the deeper structural inequalities that continue to shape Irish society.
Report author TASC Senior Economist Oisín Gilmore warns that the latest figures reflect a temporary reprieve, not a lasting solution. A meaningful response must go beyond immediate relief to confront the deeper, systemic roots of inequality.
The report finds that temporary cost-of-living supports – such as the Pandemic Unemployment Payment, energy credits, and lump-sum welfare payments – played a critical role in reducing poverty risk among vulnerable households. Without these interventions, Ireland’s at-risk-of-poverty rate would have increased to 13.0% in 2022 and 14.1% in 2023. Instead, it fell to 10.6% and 11.7% respectively. These supports were especially beneficial for vulnerable groups such as children, lone-parent families and renters.
However, the Government’s confirmation that Budget 2026 will not include similar measures raises serious concerns. As these protections are phased out, many at-risk households now face rising costs without a safety net. In the absence of these protections, poverty and deprivation levels among at-risk groups are revealed to be significantly higher – exposing the limits of temporary relief and underscoring the need for long-term, structural policy responses.
Crucially, the report also links inequality to loneliness and isolation. These are issues that disproportionately affect low-income and marginalised groups. TASC recommends a national strategy to address these interconnected challenges, with targeted investment in community infrastructure, inclusive digital access, intergenerational programmes, and stigma-reducing public campaigns.
This report argues that building a resilient and inclusive Ireland means rethinking the foundations: state commitment to universal public services, affordable housing and reliable income supports. True fairness will not come from stopgap solutions, but from sustained and systemic investment in the public services and social protections that should help all citizens thrive.