Ireland’s richest 10% nine times wealthier than poorest 10%

THOSE working with the poor and the disabled were not at all surprised that a UN report labelled wealthy Ireland as one of the most unequal countries in the developed world. They see the inequality every day.

The 2005 Human Development report published by the UN Development Programme found that the richest 10% of the population have more than nine times the wealth of the poorest 10%.

Vice-president of the Society of Vincent de Paul (SVP), Professor John Monaghan, said the economy was booming and most people were doing well, but it was the poor who were suffering.