Campaign warns of growing poverty gap

IRELAND’S increasing income gap is creating a very divided society, the Combat Poverty Agency warned yesterday.

It said that one in five (21%) of the population is living below the poverty line on less than €164 a week - 2% above the European Union average.

“Our position compared to the developed countries of the European Union is a matter of serious concern,” Combat Poverty director Helen Johnston said at the launch of the agency’s annual report.

“Ireland has developed a successful economy, but we still have comparatively high levels of poverty and social exclusion.”

The agency is particularly concerned about child poverty because it can have a lasting impact into the future. Twenty-one per cent of Irish children live in income-poor households - 2% higher than the European average.

“While there has been an improvement in that area because of increased employment and better child income support, in our view the level is still too high,” she said.

And while the most severe forms of poverty have been reduced, there is still a gap between people in well-paid jobs and people in low-paid employment.

“Ireland has been very successful and nobody can deny that but we have been less successful in addressing some of the social issues, particularly around poverty,” Ms Johnston said.

While social welfare rates had been set above the inflation rate they were not in line with the average wage increase.

“It’s a widening gap,” she pointed out. People were being left behind because the kind of supports they needed to keep up had not been provided.

There was evidence from a number of countries that strong social policies could support and complement economic growth and poverty was not inevitable.

Also, countries with low levels of poverty also tended to devote a greater proportion of their social spending on services.

“Good service provision through education, health, care (including childcare), housing, community provision and public transport can lead to a successful society and also to a more productive economy,” Ms Johnston pointed out.

“In Ireland we have the vision, we have the plans and we have the resources. We are playing a key role in the European Union. We have already made much progress but the challenge remains to make a decisive impact on poverty in Ireland through a socially caring budget.”