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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

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

7. Optimism about the future
08/12/2018

8. 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

9. Material conditions
08/12/2018

10. Feeling of subjective economic strain
08/12/2018

11. Housing: Ireland in comparison
08/12/2018

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

13. Employment: Ireland in comparison
08/12/2018

14. Job satisfaction – Ireland in comparison
08/12/2018

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

16. Satisfaction with family life
08/12/2018

17. Gender equality - Housework
08/12/2018

18. Community life
08/12/2018

19. Long-standing illness
08/12/2018

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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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% interviews (IRL:33%)
Cleaned data set available January 2004
08/12/2018