Rural cost of living a cause for concern

NEW RESEARCH has revealed that the cost of living in rural areas is significantly higher than in urban centres. The study, by the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice (VPSJ), shows that households in rural Ireland require between €69.91 and €108.61 more than their urban counterparts, to achieve an essential minimum standard of living. The survey of household expenditure found that three types of households cannot afford a minimum essential standard of living, if receiving either social welfare payments or the minimum wage. The three household types are those with two parents and two children, aged 10 and 15; a female pensioner (70+) living alone; and a single male (40 to 55) living alone. The two largest areas of cost differences are transport and food, reflecting a lack of choice in rural areas. 'The lack of public transport in rural areas necessitates the inclusion of a car for rural households, and the lack of access to multiples and â€Ëœown brand' items increases food costs for rural households,' said Sister Bernadette McMahon, Director of VPSJ. 'It is clear that the national minimum wage and social welfare payments are all arbitrary and not informed on what households need in order to have a minimum essential standard of living. This study shows that a single adult working full-time in rural Ireland needs to earn €12.65 per hour to afford a minimum essential standard of living. A two parent family with two children (10 and 15), where both adults are in employment (one full-time and one part-time), require a living-wage of €12.24 per hour each to attain a net weekly income of €745.72 (including child benefit).'                                                                                                                          To calculate the minimum essential standard of living for each household category, 15 different areas of spending were analysed. These ranged from food and clothing to insurance costs (health, home contents and car), and household services (telephone, television, etc). The study was sponsored by the Ireland in Social Europe Project (EAPN); former Combat Poverty Agency (CPA), now the Social Inclusion Division of the Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs and the Trustees of the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice. The full study is available on www.budgeting.ie.