A new report has found that Covid-19 infection rates were more than a third higher in the most deprived areas of Ireland, relative to more affluent areas.
Overcrowding, reduced access to private sanitation facilities, jobs not suitable for remote working, and a reliance on public transport all facilitated the spread and transmission of the virus, putting already disadvantaged communities at heightened health risk.
The study, from the Economic and Social Research Institute, said that areas with communal establishments, and areas with higher shares of residents who are Travellers, also had higher Covid-19 infection rates.
Communal establishments included nursing homes, direct provision centres, or anywhere where there is a congregated living environment.