{"id":505280,"date":"2026-06-18T02:04:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T02:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/505280\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T02:04:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T02:04:09","slug":"wellbeing-report-paints-complex-picture-of-economic-progress-and-growing-inequality-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/505280\/","title":{"rendered":"Wellbeing report paints complex picture of economic progress and growing inequality \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ireland<\/a> has a strong economy and a resilient society, but \u201cwellbeing data\u201d shows a more complex picture where inequalities persist, a new Government<\/a> report has found.<\/p>\n

The report, Understanding Life in Ireland, seeks to measure the wellbeing of people as a \u201ctool for understanding Ireland\u2019s progress beyond traditional economic indicators\u201d.<\/p>\n

It examines the period from 2020-2025, during which it says that three themes were dominant: the unwinding of Covid<\/a> supports and \u201cthe uneven effects of this\u201d; differences in people\u2019s experience due to housing status; and different economic impacts for younger workers and lower-income groups.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe broader narrative,\u201d it finds, \u201cis therefore one of both progress and some divergence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Officials have been tracking 35 \u201cwellbeing indicators\u201d across 11 \u201cdimensions\u201d in a bid to paint a picture of progress or otherwise across the population. <\/p>\n

Some of the \u201cdimensions\u201d, including \u201csubjective wellbeing\u201d, \u201cknowledge, skills and innovation\u201d, \u201cwork and job quality\u201d and \u201cconnections, community and participation\u201d, the report says, show generally positive trends since 2020. <\/p>\n

One, \u201cmental and physical health\u201d, shows a generally negative trend. <\/p>\n

The rest, including \u201cincome and wealth\u201d, \u201chousing and built environment\u201d, \u201csafety and security\u201d, \u201cenvironment, climate and biodiversity\u201d, \u201ctime use\u201d and \u201ccivic engagement, trust and cultural expression\u201d, show a mixed trend, the report says.<\/p>\n

Negative individual indicators, which go to make up these \u201cdimensions\u201d, include: an increase in the numbers reporting depression, a rise in unmet need for medical attention, a rise in those experiencing difficulty making ends meet, a rise in the number of people killed or injured on roads and an increase in people experiencing discrimination. All these indicators have worsened since 2025, the report finds.<\/p>\n

Positive trends include a decline in the numbers feeling lonely, an increase in labour market participation, more homes with high energy ratings, an increase in net government worth and a rise in new-home completions. <\/p>\n

Examination of individual trends, the report says, offers evidence of how the experiences of individual people and sectors can differ. \u201cA classic example of different lived experiences relates to income and wealth, where the law of averages can portray an experience which might be very far from one\u2019s own.\u201d<\/p>\n

The report says: \u201cIt is possible to see key differences across groups, with households headed by single parents or by those unable to work due to health problems faring worse than those employed or those in retirement,\u201d the report says.<\/p>\n

Similarly, while younger people have benefited from strong employment growth, they have the lowest incomes and are less likely to own their own home.<\/p>\n

The report admits to difficulties in measuring wellbeing. However, it insists: \u201cA criticism of wellbeing analysis \u2013 that it doesn\u2019t conclusively measure or answer any one thing \u2013 is also a significant strength. In capturing a range of factors, a more nuanced perspective emerges, and traditional economic statistics and indicators can be put in context and made more salient.\u201d<\/p>\n

It says: \u201cWe should not, however, lose sight of this overarching statistical narrative, which confirms that, at an aggregate level, Ireland has a highly successful economy and a resilient society.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0The Iran deal removes a big economic risk for Ireland \u2013 if it holdsOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ireland has a strong economy and a resilient society, but \u201cwellbeing data\u201d shows a more complex picture where…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":505281,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[72,160,113,1523,3662,61,60],"class_list":["post-505280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-covid-19","tag-economy","tag-government","tag-housing-crisis","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=505280"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505280\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/505281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=505280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=505280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=505280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}