Quality of life in Europe Ireland, 29 June 2005 European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions 08/12/2018

The Foundation’s orientation to Quality of Life Quality of life + Living Conditions Subjective + Objective measures Integrated + Holistic view Analytical + Descriptive reports 08/12/2018

Domains of Quality of Life (Core domains) Economic resources Health and health care Employment and working conditions Knowledge, education and training Families and households Community life and social participation Housing Local environment and amenities Transport Public safety and crime Recreation and leisure activities Culture and identity, political resources and human rights, including the European dimension 08/12/2018

Core Focus Domains of employment, economic resources, family, community, health and education The inter-relationships between them (e.g. work and family, health and economic resources) Time use (in work, family and community activities) as a crucial aspect and Quality of social provision (e.g. health and social care) as key elements of quality of life 08/12/2018

Ireland ‘The world’s best country’ – Economist Intelligence Unit ‘The country with the highest overall risk of poverty’ – Commission and Council’s Joint Report on Social Inclusion What does the EQLS tell us about: - Subjective well-being - Material well-being - Job security - Family relations - Gender equality - Community life - Health 08/12/2018

Subjective well-being: Ireland in comparison 08/12/2018

Optimism about the future 08/12/2018

Satisfaction with present standard of living NS gender, age, urban/rural – but lower quartile 6.1 – middle 7.4 – highest 8.2. Highest (8.3) among professional/managerial & self-employed. Clearly lowest among unemployed. 08/12/2018

Material conditions 08/12/2018

Feeling of subjective economic strain 08/12/2018

Housing: Ireland in comparison 08/12/2018

Problems with housing or environment: Ireland in comparison 08/12/2018

Employment: Ireland in comparison 08/12/2018

Job satisfaction – Ireland in comparison 08/12/2018

Family relations Contact with parents only a few times a year or less 08/12/2018

Satisfaction with family life 08/12/2018

Gender equality - Housework 08/12/2018

Community life 08/12/2018

Long-standing illness 08/12/2018

Quality of health and social services: Ireland in comparison 08/12/2018

Conclusions Quality of life is high on several dimensions and overall life satisfaction is good – but not for everybody In general, living standards, material conditions, deprivation, health status and life satisfaction are clearly associated with income Measures of family support and quality of family life are reassuringly positive; but gender differences in the distribution of household roles are marked. Relatively high levels of participation in church and community life 08/12/2018

Conclusions (contd) Although ratings of health are relatively good, assessments of the quality of health services (and of public transport) are well below the EU 15 average; assessments of the quality of the education and pension systems are relatively high Some big differences between life in urban and rural areas – living standards, job security, internet use, participation in training 08/12/2018

Survey methodology Representative household survey of people 18+ Interviews in May-September 2003 Coverage: EU countries including 10 new Member States; 3 candidate countries (Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey) Sample size: 1000 people per country (600 in the 5 smallest) Response rate: 58% - 26000 interviews (IRL:33%) Cleaned data set available January 2004 08/12/2018