Housing and poverty: official Irish data sources

Housing and poverty: official Irish data sources Joe Finnerty School of Applied Social Studies, & Institute for Social Science in 21st Century, University College,Cork. Presentation at the UCC summer school on Conceptualising and Measuring Poverty 19th June 2012

Content of presentation introduction to the main, publicly available, official, regularly produced, quantitative, Irish data sources (survey or administrative) relating to housing poverty, and tohousing and poverty. some general remarks on the importance of paying attention to the context of these stats (facilitating an understanding what they mean, their uses and limitations) - the production and reception of housing / poverty data, using the concept of tenure and of homelessness statistics by way of illustrations.

Structure of presentation PART 1 DATA SOURCES NOT DISCUSSED – NGO HOUSING / POVERTY DATA PART 2 HOUSING COSTS, HOUSING DEPRIVATION and HOMELESSNESS in the framework of IRISH ANTI-POVERTY STRATEGIES EXCURSUS #1 – 'tenure' as an indicator of housing poverty PART 3 OFFICIAL SURVEY SOURCES OF HOUSING / POVERTY DATA: 1.SILC, 2.HBS, 3.Census of Population PART 4 ADMIN SOURCES OF HOUSING / POVERTY DATA: 4.Social Housing Needs Assessment, 5.Statistical Information on Social Welfare Services, 6.Department of Environment, Community and Local Government stats online, 7.Central Bank stats on mortgage arrears PART 5 OFFICIAL SURVEY AND ADMIN SOURCES OF HOMELESSNESS DATA: 8.Counted In, 9.PASS, 10.2011 Census 'new question', 11.3-yearly counts under the 1988 Housing Act, section 9, 12. rough sleeper count in Dublin area EXCURSUS #2 – the contexts of homelessness measures

PART 1 Data sources not discussed

PART 1 Data sources not discussed (1) 'Non-official' data = data produced by a variety on NGOs in the areas of Irish housing / poverty and homelessness, such as Simon Communities of Ireland Focus Ireland RESPOND! Threshold see their websites for relevant reports and data

Data sources not discussed (2) This data is typically based on the NGO admin data on uptake of services such as hostel accommodation, food provision, etc. over a given period In many cases, NGOs will produce robust stats for their own organisation Where the NGO, or a coalition of NGOs, have a rigorous research function, they may provide estimates of the size of a relevant population e.g. the MakeRoomcoalition www.makeroom.ie See O'Sullivan (2008) 'Researching homelessness in Ireland: explanations, themes and approaches' in Downey (ed.) Perspectives on Irish Homelessness some reflections on data produced by advocacy groups occurs in the later slides on the 'politics of measurement'.

PART 2 HOUSING COSTS, DEPRIVATION AND HOMELESSNESS IN IRISH ANTI-POVERTY STRATEGIES

Tripartite poverty definition/measurement, NAPS Sharing in Progress 1997 DEPRIVATION INCOME INADEQUATE RESOURCES ‘UNACCEPTABLE’ STANDARD OF LIVING EXCLUSION FROM PARTICIPATION IN SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR THAT IS THE NORM

Using the NAPS poverty framework, the presentation will focus on the main data sources classified by: -housing costs(mortgage and rental payments) - relevant to the income (and expenditure) dimensions to poverty -housing facilities and quality- relevant to the deprivation dimension to poverty -indirect or broader indicators of housing andpoverty– those housing variables that can be correlated with income and deprivationvariables (principally tenure) -homelessness, where households are without 'accommodation' that is in the form of permanent private housing units (to which these variables re costs, quality, and tenure, ipso facto cannot apply) Homelessness is first discussed in the mid-term revised NAPS, Building an Inclusive Society (2002)

EXCURSUS #1 'SOCIAL HOUSING' AS A (TENURE-BASED) INDICATOR OF POVERTY?

Key housing concept: TENURE from the French tenir, to hold refers to nature or basis of occupancy by the household of its accommodation. See Doling, 1997, Comparative Housing Policy

3 main tenures in Ireland Owner occupation Eithermortgaged Orowned outright Private renting(from private for-profit landlord) Social renting -from local authority (‘public’ not-for-profit landlord) - from housing association (private not-for-profit landlord) See O’Connell, (2008), The state and housing in Ireland: ideology, policy and practice

CONTEXT: Social housing as indicator of problems...or solutions? % of households in social housing tenure and / or in receipt of rent supplement is commonly used as an indicator of housing poverty (e.g. Edwards and Linehan, City of Difference) Butit may be argued that this is actually an indicator of welfare responses to housing poverty (the extent of housing welfare 'effort')

Social housing as indicator of problems...or solutions? Part of the answer lies in the unit of analysis being used At householdlevel, the focus tends to be on housing costsand qualityof accommodation At neighbourhoodlevel, the focus may also include issues around tenure, social mix and neighbourhood quality

Another part of the answer... Note the distinction made earlier between: 'housing poverty', and 'housing andpoverty' The policy rationaleof social housing provision is to alleviate housing poverty (good quality housing – alleviating housing deprivation, plus at an affordable rent – alleviating housing cost aspects of income poverty) See e.g. DoECLG (2011) Housing Policy Statement(Dublin: DoECLG) Evidently it is an empirical question (to be evaluated via, inter alia, the data sources listed) whether this policy aspiration is realised The impact of housing poverty alleviation on the alleviation of other poverty dimensions (the extent to which it alleviates either post-housing cost income poverty, or non-housing dimensions of deprivation) is a separate issue

PART 3 OFFICIAL SURVEY SOURCES OF HOUSING / POVERTY DATA

PART 3 official surveys on housing / poverty Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) Household Budget Survey Census of Population

1.Survey on Income and Living Conditions The EU-SILC is the data collection instrument providing 'official' evidence about the income and deprivation dimensions of poverty in Ireland. Research body? Central Statistics Office Data selection? a large sample of households Data collection? primarily based on questionnaires administered on a rolling basis How often? annually from 2003 Online?www.cso.ie/en/silc/ Availability to researchers? anonymised microdata available to bona fide researchers via the UCD Irish Social Science Data Archive www.ucd.ie/issda/

SILC tenure data SILC data is collected in relation to a tenure variable, with three categories: Owner-occupied Rented at the market rate Rented at below the market rate or rent free And these are correlated throughout the SILC report with other variables....

SILC tenure data Note however that these 3 categories don't correspond directly with the standard classification by housing analysts above...

Note on SILC tenure categories The categories of the tenure variable at data collection stage, for subsequent collapse into the three-fold typology, are as follows: 1. Owned Outright 2. Owned with Mortgage (including joint owner rental with Local Authority) 3. Owned with tenant purchase system 4. Owned with affordable housing 5. Rented from Local Authority 6. Rented from landlord with furnishings 7. Rented from landlord without furnishings - From CSO 2010, SILC questionnaire manual, p. 19 www.cso.ie/en/silc/methodology/

SILC questions on housing poverty #1 Comprise 2 of the items on the official deprivation index

‘lacking two or more items from the following 11-item index’: '6. Had to go without heating during the last year through lack of money 7. Keep the home adequately warm'

Generating (tenure by deprivation) data such as: "Individuals living in households renting at 'below the market rate or rent free' reported the highest levels of deprivation in 2009, with only 29.1% experiencing no deprivation at all." CSO 2012

SILC - (tenure by at-risk-of poverty) data example: persons living in owner-occupied accommodation had a significantly lower at risk of poverty rate "The at risk of poverty rate for persons living in owner-occupied accommodation was 10.1% in 2009 while the rate for persons living in accommodation rented at the market rate was 16.5% and for persons living in accommodation rented at below the market rate or rent free was 31.7%." CSO 2012

SILC - (tenure by consistent poverty) data example "the highest consistent poverty rate reported was for those renting at below market rate in 2009 - at17.9%, a consistent poverty rate of 8.3% for persons in accommodation rented at the market rate 2.5% for persons living in owner-occupied housing" CSO 2012

SILC questions re housing costs ( first introduced in 2009): on household indebtedness, there is a dichotomous yes/no question on rent and mortgage arrears (by income quintile) 'Housing cost burden' offers three response categories: heavy / somewhat / none (by income quintile)

SILC questions re housing & neighbourhood quality Damp walls Dark rooms Absence of hot running water Noise a problem in neighbourhood Crime a problem in neighbourhood

2. Household Budget Survey

2. HOUSEHOLD BUDGET SURVEY Research body? Central Statistics Office Data selection? sample of 8,000 households in last round Data collection? Household questionnaires How often? every 5 years (since 1951) - last conducted in 2009 -2010 Online? www.cso.ie/en/surveysandmethodology/housingandhouseholds/householdbudgetsurvey/Availability to researchers? anonymised microdata available to bona fide researchers via the UCD Irish Social Science Data Archive www.ucd.ie/issda/

Household Budget Survey Collects data on household expenditures (including housing) income and labour market status household facilities and appliances housing tenure

3. Census of Population Research body?Central Statistics Office Data selection? Universal coverage (not a sample) Permits detailed analysis down to Electoral Division level (and anonymised files are available online) How often? every 5 years with some exceptions (from 1926) Online? www.cso.ie/en/census/ Availability to researchers? Interactive tables, Small Area Population Stats (SAPS) for selected variables and geographic areas, for more recent censuses. Anonymised microdata available to bona fide researchers – contact CSO for details.

Data on tenure were first collected in the post-WWII census (1946), and then in the first census of every decade From the 2006 census, tenure questions are also asked in mid-decade censuses

Other Census housing data Indicators of housing quality: type of heating no. of rooms indoor toilet age of house

Other Census housing data Data on rental housing costs [but not on mortgage payments]

PART 4 Administrative data on housing / poverty

PART 4 Administrative data on housing / poverty 4. Social Housing Needs Assessment 5. Statistical Information on Social Welfare Services (rent and mortgage interest supplements) 6. Department of Environment, Community and Local Government stats online 7. Central Bank stats on mortgage arrears (The local authority Ihouse database)

4. social housing needs assessment Research body?Based on local authority admin data Data selection?A census of all relevant cases of need How often?Every 3 years (based on data returned by Local Authorities under the 1988 Housing Act, section 9) This data is available by housing authority - though with some delays between data collection and dissemination Online? www.environ.ie/en/Publications/StatisticsandRegularPublications/HousingStatistics/ Availability to researchers?No, dataset not supplied.

Breakdown of households assessed as being in need of social housing by: Tenure Employment status Age; Household type; Duration ; Income analysis of households; Number of non- EU National households

5. DoSP (2011) Statistical Information on Social Welfare Services 2010 Research body? Admin data from DoSP Data selection? A census of all relevant files Data collection? Admin data How often? Annually (online from 1998) Online? www.welfare.ie/EN/Policy/ResearchSurveysAndStatistics/Pages/StatInfoReportsIndex.aspx Availability to researchers? No, dataset unavailable

Statistical Information on Social Welfare Services Trends in rent and mortgage interest supplement scheme including: Overall expenditures No. of recipients Age Gender Primary income source Geographical area (county) Types of household Duration of claim

6. DoE stats online Research body? DoE Appears to have replaced the Housing Stats Bulletin (until 2008, quarterly and annually) Data selection? A census of all relevant cases Data collection? Admin data How often? Updated every few months Online? www.environ.ie/en/Publications/StatisticsandRegularPublications/HousingStatistics/ Availability to researchers? No, original dataset not supplied

Presents data on activities by social housing bodies Local authority new build Voluntary / housing association new build Shared ownership Low cost housing sites Improvement works in lieu of re-housing Affordable housing Local authority loans for home purchase and improvement Overall social housing expenditures

7. Central Bank data on overmortgaged households Research body? Irish Central Bank Data selection and collection? compiles stats on all mortgage arrears, supplied by mortgage lending institutions,though these are not very (more detailed data incl. on Right to Buy mortgages, later in 2012) How often? quarterly from June 2011 Online? www.centralbank.ie/polstats/stats/mortgagearrears/Pages/releases.aspx Availability to researchers? No, original dataset unavailable

Mortgage data is supplied on Total residential mortgage loans outstanding Arrears by duration Repossessions Restructured mortgages

PART 5 OFFICIAL SURVEY AND ADMIN SOURCES OF HOMELESSNESS DATA

Data sources on homelessness “absence of reliable data on the homeless population represents one of the most significant data gaps in our knowledge and understanding of poverty in Ireland” - Corrigan, C., Fitzgerald, E., Bates, J., and Matthews, A. (2002) Data Sources on Poverty.Dublin: Combat Poverty Agency "The major technical obstacle to thestudy of the homeless lies in the fact that conventional censuses and surveys are premised on the assumption that almost all persons can be reached and queried in their dwellings, a premise that is untenable by definition when dealing with the homeless."Rossi, (1987) 'No good social research goes unpunished, Society, Nov – Dec, pp. 77-8

Quantifying homelessness 8. the Counted In surveys in Dublin 9. the PASS system (= administrative data) 10. new question asked in the 2011 Census 11. the 3-yearly counts under the 1988 Housing Act, section 9

Housing and poverty: official Irish data sources