Government must act to avoid pensioner poverty crisis – Louise O’Reilly TD

Sinn Féin spokesperson for Social Protection, Louise O’Reilly TD, has warned that a crisis of pension poverty is well underway if government does not urgently address the need for affordable and social housing.

Teachta O’Reilly said:

“Yesterday’s Aviva Insurance report, surveying 1000 renters, showed that almost one quarter of people feel they will never own their own home.

“Last year, Social Justice Ireland showed that Ireland was already among the countries with the highest increase in pension poverty and social exclusion for older people.  We saw an 83% increase in the number of older people living in the private rental sector.

“In light of the Aviva survey, it is crucial to note that we currently have more people over 50 renting than ever before.

“The coming years will see a significant and unprecedented increase in pensioners who are stuck in an exorbitant rental market.

“The burden of this will be predominantly shouldered by women, many of whom have missed out on pension contributions due to years of working in the home.

“A recent ESRI report stated that there is a significant 35% pension income gap between women and men in retirement, indicating systemic gender inequality in income.

“What we are witnessing now is only the tip of the iceberg – older people are struggling to cover basic living costs as it is. How on earth does the government expect them to pay record-high monthly rents on a pension?

“The government is leaving generations of older people without any alternative to living in precarity as they approach retirement age.  It has no plan to prevent this impending crisis.”