St. Vincent de Paul says the cost of essential items has increased by nearly 20 per cent in the last five years.

The charity's latest Minimum Essential Standard of Living report has found the price of items like food, clothing and shelter rose by 1 point 8 per cent since 2024 alone.

The cost of meeting the needs of a primary school age child is 98 euro a week - while 72 euro a week is needed for the essentials for pre-school children.

The minimum wage only covers about 78 per cent of the cost of essential items for a single person, according to St. Vincent de Paul.

Figures from this year's Minimum Essential Standard of Living report show the cost of these items for someone in low-paid full-time employment has risen by 5 point 6 per cent.

For more on this, Alan Morrissey was joiened by Denis Carty, President of the Clare branch of SVP.