Introduction What is a ‘Rural’ Area? One of the challenges at looking at the issue of rural homelessness in Ireland is that there is no specific definition of rural homelessness. This is further compounded by the fact that there is no one agreed definition of a rural area thus many variations are used. The Central Statistics Office (CSO), for the purpose of the Census, use the term ‘Aggregate Rural Area’ to describe the population outside an ‘Aggregate Town Area’9 and this includes towns with a population of less than 1,50010. Research undertaken by the Northern Ireland Statistical Research Agency (NISRA) defines rural areas as ‘small towns, villages and open countryside with population of less than 4,500 people’11. Alternatively, a Government White Paper on Rural Development (1999) described rural areas as all areas outside the five major urban areas of Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford12. The National Spatial Strategy (2002) identified five broad categories of rural areas including: • Areas in close proximity to large urban areas and with high population densities. • Areas where population and agricultural employment have started to decline and where replacement employment is required. • Areas where population decline has been significant • Areas that are remote including parts of the west coast and the islands. 7 • Areas that are culturally distinct such as areas on west coast of Ireland and Gaeltact areas, which are sparsely populated and can experience the highest levels of isolation.13 Rural Poverty in Ireland The latest SILC14 report for 2012 shows that the ‘at risk poverty rate’ in Ireland increased to almost 17% from 16% in 2011 and 15% in 2010. This increase is as a result of the drop in average equivalised income by 5% from€21,440 in 2011 to€20,856 in 2012. The group most ‘at risk of poverty’ were people living in households where there was ‘no one at work’ at 37%, this is an increase from 30% in 2010. This figure was at 35% people who were unemployed. The ‘at risk of poverty’ rate for people living in accommodation that was rented at below the market rate or rent free was almost as high at 34%. If all social transfers were excluded from income, the ‘at risk of poverty’ rate would actually be as high as 50%. This is a steady increase from 40% in 2005. This highlights the ever increasing dependence on social transfers by individuals in order to remain above the ‘at risk of poverty’ threshold. 9 Towns with populations of 1,500 persons or more 10 CSO Census 2011 www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/census/documents/census2011vol1andprofile1/Profile1_Statistical_Tables_and_Appendices.pdf 11 Northern Ireland Housing Executive ‘Draft Rural Action Plan 2013-2015 www.nihe.gov.uk/rural_homes_and_people_draft_action_plan_2013-2015.pdf 12 O’Sullivan, E, ‘Homelessness in Rural Ireland’ Ch 11 in Millbourne,P & Cloke,P “International Perspectives on Rural Homelessness “ (2006). 13 nss.ie/pdfs/Completea.pdf 14 SILC is Annual Survey on Income and Living Conditions carried out by CSO
Left out in the cold: A review of rural homelessness in Ireland
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