Northern Ireland

Research shows households were struggling to make ends meet before the current cost of living crisis intensified

Households in the north were struggling to make ends meet before the current cost of living crisis intensified
Households in the north were struggling to make ends meet before the current cost of living crisis intensified Households in the north were struggling to make ends meet before the current cost of living crisis intensified

HOUSEHOLDS in the north were struggling to make ends meet before the current cost of living crisis intensified, new research claims.

An Ulster University study found that in the final three months of 2021 almost a quarter of households turned their heating down or off, even though their house was cold.

A similar proportion of households couldn’t afford to pay an unexpected but necessary £500 bill, the study found.

The research, which is part of the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey, was conducted at a time when people had experienced two years of the Covid 19 pandemic, coupled with rising energy and food costs, yet Universal Credit recipients were still receiving the £20 uplift introduced during the pandemic.

The research also found that 62 per cent of people do not think that the Northern Ireland Executive is doing enough to address poverty.

Professor Ann Marie Gray, co-director of Ark, the joint Ulster University and Queen’s University Belfast centre which runs the survey, said: “These findings come at a pivotal time when families across Northern Ireland are facing unprecedented increases in the cost of the basics. With inflation expected to surpass ten per cent in the coming weeks these findings raise significant concerns about financial precarity of low-income families.

"As food, energy and fuel prices continue to soar, the National Institute for Economic and Social Research estimates that over 90,000 people in Northern Ireland face food and energy bills greater than their disposable income."

The Ark co-director highlighted how one of the research's findings was that an incoming executive will have to consider is that few believe that the government is doing all it can to reduce poverty.

"An anti-poverty strategy is long overdue as are other social inclusion strategies," she said.

"A new assembly and executive face important and challenging decisions on how Northern Ireland addresses poverty in the future.”

Respondents showed strong support for a social security system that enables people to meet their basic living needs and that benefits should enable a life lived in dignity.

Dr Mark Simpson, senior law lecturer at Ulster University said: "Over the last decade we have often seen that some portray social security as a luxury that society can ill afford.

"These findings show that people in Northern Ireland recognise the importance of a safety net that ensures everyone can meet their basic needs and have a life lived in dignity.”

The research was based on the survey of 1,397 adults.