Many households relying on social welfare or the minimum wage do not have enough money to get by according to a new study.
The research is part-funded by the Department of Social Protection.
It established the cost of a minimum standard of living for a variety of Irish families.
It looked at various households from a single person of working age - to a 2-parent household with varying ages of children to pensioners.
Doctor Micheal Collins is one of the authors of the report.
He explains what the minimum standard of living means.
“Just have money to get by, pay your bills, be able to have a basic level of interaction with society – in effect to be able to participate in a society” he said.
“It’s not a particularly comfortable standard of living, it is intended to be establishing what the baseline is”.
“That’s why it encompasses over 2,000 goods – that’s it’s everything from basic food across to some level of social participation, across to household insurance; the other basics that one would expect in a lifestyle” he added.
The Energy and Communications Minister says the standard of housing in Ireland is not up to scratch when it comes to heating.
Pat Rabbitte says even relatively new houses built in the last 10 years are below par.
He has opened the Energy Action conference in Dublin.
It is examining the health impacts of fuel poverty.
Minister Rabbitte says to say that cuts to the fuel allowance is what is causing fuel poverty is wrong.
He says the condition of homes here needs to be improved.
“That’s why there are 48 timetabled actions set out in the Affordable Energy strategy that is designed to bring our housing up to standard” he said.
“It’s not up to standard at the moment – it’s even regrettable that the huge proportion of our housing programme built over the last 15 years is in many cases not up to standard” he added.
Two men have been arrested in connection with a fatal shooting in Dublin last year.
Michael Kelly was in his mid-30s.
He was shot dead on Marrsfield Avenue in Clongriffin on the afternoon of the 15th of September last.
Two men in their 20s were arrested in north county Dublin this morning.
They are being questioned at Ballymun Garda station under section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act.
It is D-Day for Greece as the Prime Minister there tries to convince his party colleagues to accept a fresh set of austerity measures needed to secure a second bailout.
The government must let the EU know by today whether it is willing to sign up to the terms required to secure a 130 billion euro rescue package.
The austerity measures include cutting the minimum wage by 20 percent and axing 15,000 jobs from the public sector.
Journalist George Hatzidakis is in Athens.
He says if a deal is not reached today Greece may default on its debts.
“It’s now or never” he said.
“If Papademos doesn’t show up to his European partners with a final agreement then the bailout package is up in the air, the reforms are up in the air, the PSI haircut is up in the air”.
“It’s anybody’s guess as to how fast things would deteriorate” he added.
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II is marking her Diamond Jubilee.
Today marks 60 years since she took to the throne.
Newstalk’s Jack Quann has more.
