One in 10 Irish people cannot afford food

One in 10 people in Ireland say they cannot afford to buy food, according to an international study on the effects of the economic crisis and the Government’s response.

Some of the areas the austerity axe fell on, especially education, health, and help for the unemployed, will come back to haunt the country, according to the OECD, the think-tank for developed countries.

The gap between rich and poor in Ireland is now four times the OECD average and, even with growing signs of recovery, the gap will continue to widen, it warns, with young people facing a lifetime of poverty and a lack of employment.

The Paris-based organisation — usually a standard bearer for tough economic policies — says cuts to government spending have increased inequality here, adding that properly targeted tax cuts could have avoided this.

It points out that Ireland cut health spending by 7%, second only to Greece, and the move to require patients to pay more from their own pockets hits low-income households most.

Social transfers have been the main target of cutbacks, the OECD says, with unemployment, social assistance, disability, family benefits, and pensions all hit.

Incomes in the average Irish household have fallen 50% while the numbers living in households with no adult working went from among the lowest of developed countries to second, behind only Greece.

“Families have also cut back on essential spending, including on food, compromising their current and future well-being,” the report states. “It is still too early to quantify the longer-term effects on people’s health, but unemployment and economic difficulties are known to contribute to a range of health problems, including mental illness.”

Lower-income households lost a greater proportion of their income than the better-off and while numbers in poverty have risen, the depth of poverty deepened, especially in households with young adults.

The OECD warns that recessions widen income gaps that recoveries often fail to close. It claims the gap between rich and poor had been increasing in Ireland even before the crisis.

Trust in government has declined most in Ireland and Greece, and the OECD states that economic recovery alone will not undo the damage caused by the crisis. It advises the Government to help families, especially with childcare, and ensure that when people get jobs, benefits continue. This is to ensure they can work their way out of poverty.

Tom McDonnell, an economist with the Nevin Economic Research Institute, welcomed the report. “Bad policies lead to people not having enough to eat,” he said.

The Department of Social Protection, quoting an ESRI report, said social transfers are reducing poverty, despite being cut by some €3.5bn.