One in six now living in poverty

ONE IN six Irish people are now living in poverty despite years of economic growth and unprecedented job creation, says a leading social justice campaigner.

Policy-makers were guilty of following a “fundamentally flawed” development model during the Celtic Tiger era, CORI (Conference of Religious of Ireland) Justice director, Fr Sean Healy, will tell a conference today.

“Despite a decade and a half of prosperity, Ireland finds itself with serious deficits in infrastructure and social services which could and should have been addressed effectively by now,” says Fr Healy.