Pandemic will compound economic inequality for most vulnerable – UCD professor

Those on low pay and in temporary employment are likely to feel the brunt of any downward economic impacts. Picture: iStock

The Covid-19 pandemic will compound economic inequality across Irish society as frontline groups report rising poverty levels before and during the public health crisis.

Emeritus Professor of Equality Studies at UCD Kathleen Lynch, one of several speakers at a webinar on Monday night, told the Irish Examiner that despite some reports of economic recovery, inequality levels were rising and certain to worsen in the wake of the pandemic.

The ‘Hungry Bellies’ event, organised by the Unite trade union and chaired by broadcaster and journalist Vincent Browne, also heard from frontline groups working on the ground.

“Things have not changed. We still have huge inequalities,” Prof Lynch said, adding that metrics used to monitor economic inequality, such as the Gini coefficient, only capture income and do not look at wealth or access to public services, such as health and childcare.

The fact that 67% of people in the wealthiest households (top 10% net wealth) were gifted or inherited property or wealth from their parents compared to just 10% of people on low incomes (bottom 10%) was an example of the wealth gap, she said: “It’s the difference between people who can afford to buy a house and those who cannot”.

Professor Lynch said the gap will widen, with those on low pay and in temporary employment likely to feel the brunt of any downward economic impacts: “It’s going to be worse after the pandemic. There is no question about that”.

People are going to be extremely vulnerable when the Pandemic Unemployment Payment ends. A lot of people who are on it are in low-wage jobs, such as the catering or cleaning sector and the hospitality sector, and they will be far worse off."

Those who are most vulnerable, including many low-paid female workers, lone parents, and people with disabilities are likely to be hardest hit, Prof Lynch said. “Part of the reason we don’t hear about it is because those sectors of society are not as well off, are not as well educated, and are not as organised”.

Rhona McCord from the Unite trade union said groups on the ground, including Penny Dinners in Cork, lone parent group SPARK, Inner City Helping Homeless, the Traveller Visibility Group, and Muslim Sisters of Eire, reported that demand for support was “increasing year on year”.

In the ‘Hungry Bellies’ report, the Penny Dinners service said it saw the “trauma” of inequality on a daily basis and predicted that this year may be its toughest yet: “2020 was a long tough year for Penny Dinners. 2021 will be even tougher, probably our toughest ever”.

Ber Grogan from the Dublin-based Basket Brigade group, which organises food hampers every Christmas, said demand for support was “huge”: 

“It felt like there was a bigger need this year. While charities have been giving out food parcels and vouchers since April last year, there was palpable relief that we were going ahead with our event this year. We’ve never seen a let-up in the need”.