Poverty in Ireland - The divide continues to grow

IRISH people have never been so rich.

We enjoy a lifestyle and security, a material comfort and a relatively peaceful society, that makes us the envy of the vast majority of the world’s population.Even our immediate ancestors would be amazed at how affluent we have become.

In a generation or two we have gone from sparing the butter to trying to avoid being crushed by a Range Rover on the morning school run. From tarry, gooey coffee substitutes to Java Dark Roast in a generation.

That is why yesterday’s news about terrible and growing poverty in at least one section of our society is so disquieting.

The Central Statistics Office, in a report prepared for an EU survey, tells us that 6.9% of the general population are living in consistent poverty, down from 7% the year before.

The numbers living in relative poverty dropped from 782,550 or 18.5% of Ireland’s 4.3 million population to 719,000 (or 17%).

These figures mean that between one in five and one in six citizens of this rich country suffer the consequences of poverty. That means that they sometimes have to go without heat, food or warm clothing.

These figures give the lie to the notion that the Celtic Tiger tide has lifted all boats and challenges the institutions of the State — and, most of all, ourselves — to confront the issue.

Whether it’s as a result of a lack of opportunity, a lack of educational resources or a culture that is not ambitious or as responsible as the majority of the country’s population is irrelevant.

“Cherish all the children of the nation equally” was how it was put in an earlier, possibly more idealistic, time. It is, it seems, an ambition we are a long way from realising.

The statistics for lone parents are especially disconcerting. They show that 32.5% of single-parent families were classed as “consistently poor” last year compared with 27.2% the year before.

The figures reveal that four in five households led by a lone parent sometimes go without heat, food or warm clothing.

They are startling figures and describe a situation that should not exist in Ireland in 2007.

It is difficult enough for a family to realise its ambitions and children’s potential even with the best efforts of two committed and energetic parents.

That task is made all the harder if there is only one parent, in some instances it becomes all but impossible.

Though there are very many heroic single parents the disparity in weekly income between the average family — €1,055 a week gross in pay and welfare benefits — and what some lone parents receive is tremendous. Two-fifths of one-parent families had less than €212 a week to live on.

This poses significant challenges for us all — not least for the families dependent on such paltry figures.

Finance Minister Brian Cowen will introduce a budget next Wednesday that will undoubtedly increase various social welfare allowances but whether this is how best to resolve poverty in a rich society remains to be seen.

Despite generations of social welfare supports, no matter how meagre, far too many of our citizens are not enjoying any of the benefits of our new-found wealth.