Residents in rural areas such as Tipperary are more likely to experience poverty than urban areas, Social Justice Ireland has said today.
The organisation is basing its assessment on figures relating to 2011. It has found that in 2011, the risk of poverty in rural Ireland was 4.6 percentage points higher than in urban Ireland with "at risk" rates of 18.8% and 14.2% respectively.
It also found that hose in farming comprise just one quarter of the rural labour force and that 65% of farms in Ireland have an income of less than €20,000 per annum.
According to Social Justice Ireland's Research Analyst, Michelle Murphy, sustained high levels of unemployment and subsequent high levels of emigration among young people in rural communities is undermining employment and growth targets and indicates a failure by government to address the sustainability of rural areas.
