Poverty in Ireland should be an election issue, conference told

POOR public services and low wages are behind Ireland having the highest proportion of poor people in the EU, despite being the second wealthiest country with one of the lowest numbers out of work.

More than one-in-three people in the country are suffering poverty.

There has been a slight improvement in recent years, but too many people are suffering from governments refusing to invest in public services, a conference tackling poverty heard.