One in five living on just €200 a week

ONE in five people in Ireland live on little more than €200 weekly.

The disclosure came as Fr Peter McVerry, a tireless advocate for the homeless, paid tribute to the role of the Combat Poverty Agency.

He said the role of the State-supported agency remained as relevant today as 20 years ago when it was established.

Even in a wealthy society, poverty was all about the choices and opportunities people had, he said.

Fr McVerry was opening a photographic exhibition in Dublin on the history of poverty in Ireland over the past 20 years.

Director of the Combat Poverty Agency Helen Johnston said that while there has been a significant reduction in poverty, almost 20% of the population were still living on less than €209 a week.

People living on such incomes had no option but to rely on public services, said Fr McVerry, and it was those services that determined their quality of life and what they could hope for in terms of health, education and future prosperity.

“Investment in these services and the supports people need to engage with them can make a significant difference to people’s immediate living standards and their potential to escape poverty in the future.”

The exhibition in the city’s civic offices in Burgh Quay shows the changing face of Ireland over the past two decades and how the agency has evolved through two very different eras.

Ms Johnston said the Ireland of today was almost a world apart from the Ireland of 1986. Then, 17% of the workforce was unemployed and 28,000 people were emigrating each year.

While Ireland’s economic success resulted in big reductions in unemployment and a virtual end of emigration, there were still new challenges to face, she said.

“Not everyone can take up a job and not every job guarantees an adequate income.

“One of our biggest concernsis that a low income canprevent people from accessingthe opportunities that otherstake for granted and, as such,condemn them and their children to a constant cycle of disadvantage.”

The exhibition, which combines the work of renowned photographer Derek Speirs with a historical narrative, will run at civic offices for a week before touring the country.