Rich-poor gap widened by 294 a week, says CORI

THE BUDGET has widened the gap between rich and poor by 294 a week and this trend must be reversed, the CORI Justice Commission insisted yesterday.

It added that, since coming to power seven years ago, the Government had widened the gap between rich and poor by 15,341 a year.

"This trend must be reversed widening the gap between the better-off and the poor is unfair, unjust and bad for social cohesion," CORI Justice Commission spokesman Father Seán Healy said.

These figures were calculated by taking the pay increases, tax reductions and social welfare increases into account.

And the CORI Justice Commission also took into account the impact of the new savings scheme which

the better-off can access but which is beyond the reach of Ireland's poorest people.

The gap between the disposable income of long-term unemployed single people and those earning 50,000 a year has widened by 280 a week, Father Healy said.

But when the 14 a week gain from the Government savings scheme was taken into account the gap was widened to 294 a week.

The impact of the Government decisions on the take-home pay of couples has been almost as striking, Fr Healy said. After seven Budgets, long-term unemployed couples were 89.43 better off.

In contrast, the couple on 50,000 were 310 a week better off. And since this couple also benefited from the savings scheme the gap had widened by 324 a week.

Father Healy said that some commentators tried to justify these increases, claiming that the percentage increases in particular years were lower for the better-off. "We reject that analysis. Percentages do not buy bread and milk cash does," Father Healy added.

The CORI Justice Commission also rejected Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy's claim that job creation was the real answer to achieving social inclusion.

"This fails to recognise the fact that almost 60% of those living in poverty are in households headed by someone outside the labour market, who is either retired, ill or has a disability that prohibits them from working," Father Healy said.

"Since these people are not in a position to take up a job, the minister's response to their predicament only adds insult to injury," Father Healy added.