Four in five people say they have less money in their pockets compared to this time a year ago. More than one third are economising on food. People are turning to lenders, credit cards, families and friends for a dig-out.
But it does bear out some of the warnings of campaigners, student leaders, trade unions and Opposition parties, among 30 organisations in the Cost of Living Coalition behind today’s demonstration who say people should not be forced to make a decision on whether to eat or heat.One of those organisers, Fr Peter McVerry, this week went as far as to describe Ireland as a “failing state” denying people access to housing, free education, public healthcare and mental healthcare.
“We shouldn’t have to leave to afford to live,” she said. “But that is the Ireland we are looking at currently.” Luke Reaper, managing director of B&A, describes the current cost-of-living crisis as “uncharted territory” which “feels very different to the last recession/financial crash of 2008/2009”. “We witnessed an amount of behavioural change during the Covid pandemic, and we are seeing it again,” he says.With Budget 2023 due to be announced on Tuesday, Government Buildings will be the scene of long, late-night meetings in the coming days as the Coalition puts the finishing touches to a budget, the likes of which has perhaps not been so anticipated by so many for decades.
Two focus groups were also held in Dublin and Cork with a mix of blue-collar and white-collar workers between September 20th-21st to underpin the results. Among the section of the population who say they are struggling to make ends meet, almost two thirds are aged between 25 and 49. Those in their late 20s and early 30s make up the sharpest rise in financial suffering since January.The findings suggest — and this is borne out over a number of metrics in the poll — that people aged 65 and over are the most financially secure of all people living in Ireland.
People with children are struggling more than those without, the survey found. Parents and guardians make up 33 per cent of those who say they are struggling, compared with 23 per cent of those without children. Women are also more likely than men to be in financial difficulty.
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