Consistent poverty in Ireland has fallen from 15 per cent in 1994 to 6 per cent in 2000, according to the Combat Poverty Agency's annual report for 2001.
However, the report also showed relative income poverty for the same period increased from 16 per cent to 22 per cent.
"Although important advances have been made in tackling poverty in recent years, the downturn in the national economy will represent a major challenge for the state in its attempts to tackle poverty," Ms Helen Johnston, director of the Combat Poverty Agency, said.
The consistent poverty measure takes into account the relative income level of a household or person and their experience of deprivation. But some experts argue the deprivation index does not reflect the basic necessitities.
Ms Johnston said the ultimate elimination of consistent poverty requires that the proportion of people falling below relative income poverty lines should also be falling. "Recently, this is not the case," she said.
She also highlighted the upward trend in the level of unemployment as a prospective difficulty. "It is our experience that households headed by an unemployed person are persistently the most at risk of poverty and we would encourage the government to introduce the minimum social welfare payment of €150," she said.