This paper attempts to describe the major research project on Poverty and
related issues on which we at the ESRI have been working for the past four
years. This project forms part of the EC-funded co-ordinated Research
Project on Poverty which Professor Deleeck, the co-ordinator, has discussed
in the previous paper. I trust that my description of the Irish
experiences. both positive and negative, with this type of inquiry will help
to elucidate the contribution which such studies can make to our
understanding of poverty in Europe today and suggest guidelines for the
conduct of such research in the future. I hope that my comments will
complement those of Professor Deleeck by sketching the overall approach to
the analysis of poverty adopted by one of the countries involved
