EUR
STG
The Minimum Essential Standard of Living (MESL) seeks to answer a simple question: “What do people need to live with dignity?”. This answer comes from the public, who, through deliberative focus groups, agree on the essentials for a decent life in Irish society. The annual MESL series captures changes in the cost of the minimum basket of goods and services needed for households in Ireland each year.
The MESL for 2025 includes reviewed and updated baskets for households with children. Through 66 hours of in-depth discussions, 128 people met and deliberated on what is required for a socially acceptable minimum standard of living over the course of 17 deliberative focus groups. These sessions explored what constitutes a “need” versus a “want,” reflecting on evolving norms and expectations of how essential needs should be met in today’s society.
For households without children, the 2025 figures are an inflation adjusted estimate of current costs. The project to review the content of the MESL baskets for these households is scheduled for later in 2025, to be published in 2026.
The 2020 MESL reflected the minimum costs in the first quarter of the year, and can serve as a reference point to measure the impact of the pandemic and subsequent inflation shocks.
MESL costs have increased in the year to March 2025 by 1.8% nationally (2.1% urban, 1.3% rural). This builds on the previous increases in living costs, particularly in 2022 and 2023 driven firstly by the volatility in home energy prices and secondly increases in food costs. Cumulatively, since 2020, there has been an increase of 18.8% in minimum living costs as measured by the MESL series.
Food and home energy continue to comprise a third of the core MESL basket of essential goods and services. Changes in the costs of these areas have a disproportionate impact on the overall change in the cost of the minimum basket.
Looking at the trend in minimum food and energy costs, shows that from 2020 the MESL food basket has increased by 20.2% and the household energy basket has increased by 58.2%. This reflects both the increase in prices, and changes to what is required to meet minimum needs reducing potential expenditure in this area.
The MESL offers a publicly determined benchmark for household minimum needs, providing a needs-based indicator of the income required for individuals and households to live with dignity. The annual MESL report benchmarks the adequacy of incomes from both social welfare supports and minimum wage employment for a range of household compositions.
This analysis has consistently found that households with older children (aged 12 and over) and single adult headed households have a greater risk of deep income inadequacy (where income meets less than 90% of MESL needs) when dependent on social welfare.
In 2025, of the 145 social welfare cases examined, 9 show an adequate income, while 133 demonstrate income inadequacy. Of these, 70 show deeply inadequate income. One adult household make up over half (59%) of the cases demonstrating deep income inadequacy, and household with at least one older child (12 plus) account for 90% of the deep inadequacy cases found.
The 2025 MESL report reaffirms the value of a deliberative, evidence-based approach to defining and measuring what is required for a life with dignity in contemporary Ireland. Through extensive engagement with members of the public, the MESL research has once again demonstrated the enduring relevance of its methodology and the robustness of its findings.
Despite the evolving social, economic, and technological landscape, the core principles underpinning the MESL remain consistent: that everyone should have access to the goods and services necessary to meet their physical, psychological, and social needs, and to participate fully in society.
The report also sheds light on the persistent challenges of income adequacy. The MESL provides a benchmark for what is needed, the analysis reveals that many household situations, particularly when reliant on social welfare, continue to be at risk of income inadequacy. This is especially pronounced for single-adult households and families with older children.
Policy recommendations based on MESL research findings are presented to the government through submissions such as the pre-budget submission to the Department of Social Protection, the submission to the Low Pay Commission, and broader engagements with policymakers.
The MESL budgets show the cost of the goods and services required for different household types.
The Annual MESL Data provides summary expenditure budgets and income adequacy assessments are available for each household type by year.
