Vulnerable adults in Ireland, such as people with disabilities and lone parents, are much more likely to live in persistent deprivation compared to other adults, a new study has found.

According to the findings from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), there is a significant gap in the rate of persistent deprivation experienced by vulnerable adults within Ireland. Furthermore, out of 11 EU countries studied, Ireland's gap is the largest and increased the most during the study's time frame of 2004-2015.

Persistent deprivation was defined as being deprived in at least two consecutive years. The researchers used a measure of material deprivation, which involves being unable to afford three or more basic goods and services, such as bills, adequate food, heating, and durable goods such as a car or telephone.

Three key two-year periods were assessed:
-2005-2006 - years of economic growth
-2008-2009 - recession years
-2013-2014 - recovery years.

The study revealed that in Ireland, the persistent deprivation rate is 26 percentage points higher among lone parents and 14 percentage points higher for those with a disability, compared to other adults.

Among the other countries assessed, which included the UK, France, Spain, Sweden and Finland, the next highest deprivation gap was seen in the UK - 23 percentage points for lone parents and 11 points for people with disabilities.

In the remaining countries, the average gap was 16 and eight points respectively.

The study noted that in Ireland and the UK, the persistent deprivation gap between vulnerable adults and others increased significantly over time. This did not happen in the other nine EU countries.

The researchers found that in all 11 countries, lone parents and people with disabilities were more likely to be deprived than other adults. For example, while persistent deprivation was lowest in countries with more comprehensive and generous welfare systems, such as Sweden and Finland, these countries still experienced a gap between the level of deprivation experienced by vulnerable adults and that experienced by other adults.

The study pointed out that vulnerable adults face barriers when trying to access the labour marker and a number of measures could help in this area, such as increased access to affordable childcare, the provision of more flexible working arrangements and the protection of secondary benefits, such as medical cards.

"Policies that successfully reduce poverty for the population as a whole are not enough to support vulnerable groups. Proactive steps are required to address the deprivation experienced by lone parents and adults with disabilities, and also to tackle the higher rate of child poverty associated with these households.

"Such interventions are particularly urgent in Ireland, as the data show that the deprivation gap is most pronounced here," commented Dorothy Watson of the ESRI.