A research partnership between the Economic and Social Research Institute and Community Foundation Ireland

A research partnership between the Economic and Social Research Institute and Community Foundation Ireland is helping Ireland understand how poverty, inequality and living standards are changing over time—and making that evidence available to policymakers, communities and the wider public.

Ireland has several strong sources of household and income data, but measures produced across different surveys and periods are not always directly comparable. This can make it harder to see how living standards and inequality have changed over the longer term, which groups are most exposed and how housing, work, disability or family circumstances interact with poverty.

The ESRI and Community Foundation Ireland established a multi-year research programme to address gaps in knowledge and understanding. A central part of the work is the construction and analysis of harmonised indicators that can be compared across a longer period. The programme has produced a sequence of peer-reviewed reports rather than a single one-off publication.

Community Foundation Ireland provided philanthropic support and brought the perspective of a foundation connected to thousands of voluntary, community and charitable partners. The ESRI retained responsibility for the research methods, analysis and conclusions. The work draws on controlled national microdata, including the Central Statistics Office Survey on Income and Living Conditions, under the relevant access and governance arrangements.

• A sustained research programme rather than a stand-alone report.
• Development of comparable indicators across a longer time horizon.
• Analysis of both enduring and emerging questions affecting communities.
• Accessible evidence that can inform public debate, community advocacy and philanthropic strategy.

Public bodies provide the official statistical and policy context within which the research can be understood. The Central Statistics Office controls access to the underlying research microdata. Government and public bodies may consider the findings, but the partnership does not determine policy or public spending decisions. The value of the research lies in strengthening the evidence available for those decisions.

By 2025, the partnership had published its fifth annual report on poverty, income inequality and living standards. Individual studies have also tested specific policy questions. A 2023 analysis estimated that a means-tested second tier of child benefit could reduce child poverty by one quarter—more than 40,000 children—while benefiting over 100,000 households. These are research estimates, not a record of an implemented policy outcome.

The programme’s wider contribution is a more consistent evidence base that can be used by policymakers, researchers, civil society, funders and the public. Its impact should therefore be described in terms of knowledge, debate and decision support unless a direct policy use has been independently confirmed.

• Philanthropy can support independent public-interest evidence without owning the findings.
• Multi-year funding is particularly valuable where trends need to be tracked over time.
• Governance should protect research independence, data security and peer review.
• Research impact should not be overstated: informing a decision is different from causing a policy change.