Almost 60 per cent of households with children under 18 cannot afford a week-long holiday and nearly 17 per cent are not in a position to pay for a meal with meat, chicken, fish or a vegetarian equivalent every other day.
Results of the Survey on Income and Living Conditions for 2012, carried out by the National Statistics Office, showed that 27.2 per cent of children were living in households that did not have enough money to meet unexpected financial expenses.
12.3 per cent of people under 18 were living in severely materially deprived households in 2012
Another material deprivation indicator is the ability to keep one’s home adequately warm in winter. The survey found that nearly 22 per cent of children and elderly were living in households that faced difficulties in affording such amenities, up from 17.7 per cent recorded for 2011. The NSO calculated material deprivation by asking house-holds whether they could meet unexpected financial expenses, a week away from home, a meal with meat, chicken or fish every second day, keeping their home warm, owning a washing machine, a colour TV set, a telephone or a car, or have arrears to pay.
Those unable to afford at least three of the items mentioned are considered as materially deprived and people who could not have access to four are severely materially deprived. According to the survey, the at-risk-of-poverty rate stood at just over 23 per cent in 2012 and those at the poverty line, or risk of exclusion, made up almost 31 per cent.
In 2012, 12.3 per cent under 18 were living in severely materially deprived households. This proportion was calculated at 6.4 per cent for those aged 65 and over.
The at-risk-of-poverty rate of children in households with five or more members was calculated at 27 per cent while almost half lived in single-parent households.
With regard to people aged 65 and over, the at-risk-of-poverty rate was 17.3 per cent. Of these, 71 per cent owned their home.
At the beginning of this year, the government rolled out a plan to reduce the number of people at risk of poverty by 22,000 by the end of next year.
The underlying theme of a Green Paper was to achieve social mobility by focusing on low-income families with children and elderly people.
In 2012, the total number of those at risk was 61,689, or 15.1 per cent of the population, according to the NSO. If the risk of social exclusion is also factored in, the figure soars to 93,783, or 22.9 per cent.