European Anti-Poverty Network Ireland Newsflash February 2022

EAPN Ireland News

EAPN Ireland Poverty Data Briefing

Please find enclosed an EAPN Ireland briefing note on 2020 Income and Poverty data. Once again, the Survey on Income and Living Conditions for 2020 (SILC) results show that the year-on-year the same groups are living in consistent poverty, including single person households, those unable to work due to long-term illness, and people living in the rental accommodation. The data also shows the importance of COVID-19 income supports and how essential our social welfare system is in preventing poverty and social exclusion.

EAPN Ireland Position Paper on the Future of Europe

Please find enclosed an EAPN Ireland position paper on the Future of Europe.  The EU is currently undertaking a process called the Conference on the Future of Europe. The Conference is a process to engage EU citizens in debating EU challenges, priorities, and to propose changes for its future.
This EAPN Ireland position paper puts forward our priorities for the Future of Europe, outlining a way forward so that the EU can live up to its own values and build a social Europe that focuses on addressing poverty and inequality.

Submission on the National Reform Programme 2022 

EAPN Ireland has provided a submission to the consultation process on the Government’s National Reform Programme 2022, calling on the Government to provide a strong focus on anti-poverty policies and initiatives as part of Irelands post COVID-19 recovery. You can read the submission here.

EAPN Blog: Policy Responses to the Housing Crisis- A Road to Nowhere?

EAPN Ireland Board member Aiden Lloyd has written a blog post for the EAPN Ireland website outlining the problems people are currently facing accessing affordable housing supply in Ireland, and the need for substantial Government intervention. You can read the post here.

Members News

St Vincent De Paul: Red C 2022 Report – The Cost of Surviving
The depth of the difficulties currently facing many people in Ireland are highlighted in a new poll conducted by RED C on behalf of the Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP).A key finding is that the number of people reporting that they are finding it difficult to manage financially has doubled since the start of the pandemic in 2020, from 9% to 18% in January 2022. Further findings can be read here.

EAPN Europe News

The Digital Euro concerns the whole society, not only Finance- EAPN Europe 
EAPN Europe, together with 120 experts and organisations, co-signed the public call to the ECB to put some democracy and civil society into the digital euro exploratory phase. As the euro celebrates its 20th anniversary, the European Central Bank (ECB) investigates the possibility of creating a “digital euro” in addition to the coins and notes that we still use in our daily transactions. We call on the ECB to truly involve society in the current investigation of the digital euro and broaden the discussion to the objectives that could be pursued with the help of this monetary innovation. You can read the opinion piece here.

The Right to Energy Forum 2022
As one of the co-founding members of the Right to Energy Coalition, EAPN Europe was honoured to launch the Right to Energy Forum 2022, together with the European Public Service Unions (EPSU) and Friends of the Earth Europe. Several EAPN members presented the situation of Energy Poverty in their country. See the presentations from EAPN Bulgaria, Greece and Portugal here. EAPN also presented the new EAPN-EPSU briefing on the right to affordable, clean energy for all Europeans during the opening session.

EU News
Press Release European Citizens Panel  | Citizens take over Europe Coalition
The Citizens Take Over Europe coalition (CTOE), have strong concerns about the direction European Citizens’ Panel 4 (on “EU in the world / Migration”) is heading, notably with regard to the topic of EU border management. In the run-up to the third and final session of Citizens’ Panel 4 which took place from 11-13 February in Maastricht, they published a press release, explaining their concerns