Quarter of single-parent homes in arrears on utility bills in 2021, survey finds

One in four single-parent households went into arrears on utility bills in 2021, according to the Central Statistics Office’s Survey on Income and Living Conditions for the year. The 25 per cent rate compares to 7 per cent for households overall, the CSO said.

While one in 20 households said they experienced “great difficulty” in making ends meet, about one in six single-parent households reported the same, its survey found.

Some 42 per cent of all households said they had at least some difficulty in making ends meet, compared with 46.5 per cent in the same survey the previous year.

The survey also pointed to pressures on tenants. Among households that pay rent, 16.2 per cent – or one in six – reported that in the 12-month period prior to their date of interview, there was at least one occasion where they did not pay their rent on time due to financial difficulties.

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Among owner-occupied households with an outstanding mortgage, 5.3 per cent reported that they had not made a loan repayment on time on at least one occasion.

The CSO said the at-risk-of-poverty rate in 2021 was 11.6 per cent, down from 13.2 per cent in 2020. This rate was highest among people “unable to work due to long-standing health problems”, standing at 39.1 per cent. For employed people it was 4.4 per cent.

The median household disposable income was €46,471, up from €43,915 in the previous survey – a rise of 5.8 per cent. Both the CSO’s income and poverty estimates in the 2021 survey were calculated using 2020 calendar year income.

Without Covid-19 income supports, there would have been a 6.2 per cent decrease in year-on-year median household disposable income, it said.

Consistent poverty

The consistent poverty rate, which includes both people defined as being at risk of poverty and people experiencing enforced deprivation, was found to be 4 per cent, down from 4.7 per cent in 2020. For single-parent households, where there is one or more children aged under 18, the consistent poverty rate was 18.1 per cent.

The overall at-risk-of-poverty rate would have been 19.9 per cent were it not for the impact of Covid-19 income supports, the CSO found.

In the absence of the pandemic unemployment payment, the rate would have been 16.5 per cent and without wage subsidy schemes the rate would have been 15 per cent.

Among unemployed people, the at-risk-of-poverty rate was 23.2 per cent and without Covid-19 income supports this rate would have been 44.1 per cent, suggesting that the measures introduced by the Government at the outset of the pandemic had the greatest impact on the risk of poverty of the unemployed.

For single-parent households, the at-risk-of-poverty rate arrived at 22.8 per cent and would have been 37.2 per cent in the absence of pandemic income supports.