A/HRC/17/34/Add.2 that measures the proportion of people receiving income at levels below 60 per cent of the median income. The officially approved measure used in Ireland is “consistent poverty” which identifies the proportion of people with an income below 60 per cent of the median income who are deprived of two or more goods or services considered essential for a basic standard of living in Ireland. The consistent poverty measure clearly identifies those who are most vulnerable, and therefore are the primary concern of the independent expert. 16. According to the latest Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC),9 in 2009, the percentage of people “at risk of poverty” in Ireland was 14.1 per cent, while the percentage of people in “consistent poverty” was 5.5 per cent, an increase of 1.3 percentage points from the previous year.10 The most notable change in 2009 was the increase in the number of people experiencing two or more forms of deprivation, rising from 29.3 per cent in 2008, to 38.8 per cent in 2009.11 17. The target set by the NAP Inclusion is to reduce the number of those experiencing consistent poverty to between 2 to 4 per cent by 2012, with the aim of eliminating consistent poverty by 2016. The independent expert welcomes the fact that the draft national reform programme for Ireland under the Europe 2020 Strategy for recovery from the global economic and financial crises adopts this target.12 During the visit, the Government reiterated that the targets in the NAP Inclusion remained a Government priority. IV. Protecting human rights in times of budgetary constraints 18. For many years Ireland benefited from significant economic growth, enabling the government to make sustained investments in the social protection system and significantly reduce the prevalence of poverty. Since 2007, however, growth has slowed dramatically due to a number of factors related to the global economic and financial crises, such as the collapse of the Irish construction sector and associated property bubble, the collapse of the banking system, and the subsequent over-commitment of State resources to the recapitalization of Irish banks.13 Ireland’s economic and financial crises have wrought havoc on the country, with grave implications for the Irish people, increasing numbers of whom are unemployed and living in poverty and social exclusion. By the end of 2010, it was expected that Ireland would maintain an underlying deficit of 11.7 per cent of GDP.14 Undoubtedly, Ireland faces real challenges in meeting the commitments of its poverty reduction strategies and improving levels of enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights, particularly by the most vulnerable in Irish society. 19. In order to address the serious impact of the crises, Ireland has agreed to an assistance programme (loan) provided by the European Union (EU) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as part of which, it is required to take serious steps towards rectifying Ireland’s budget imbalances. Accordingly, in November 2010, the Government laid out a National Recovery Plan for 2011-2014 (NRP), which proposed a range of budgetary adjustments designed to reduce the annual deficit to less than 3 per cent by 2014. 9 10 11 12 13 14 6 Central Statistics Office (CSO), Survey on Income and Living Conditions 2009, November 2010 (hereafter SILC 2009). SILC 2009, p. 77. SILC 2009, p. 59. Draft submitted to the European Commission, December 2010, p. 20. National Economic and Social Council, “Ireland’s Five-Part Crisis: An Integrated National Response,” No. 118, March 2009, p. ix. National Recovery Plan 2011-2014, p. 7.