Poverty in Ireland - Living life on the edge

THOUGH they are two years out of date, and certainly overly optimistic because of that, EU figures on the financial stability of 40% of Irish households should give us all pause for thought.

The EU tells us that, in 2007, an unexpected bill of €900 would force two-out-of-five households to defer payment of other bills or to borrow money.

Our 40% figure is the highest in western Europe. The figure averages out at 34% across the 27 EU states.

Things have changed dramatically over the last 24 months so it is very likely our ratio has increased.

What did we do with our wealth? Where did it go? Why are so many so vulnerable in such a rich society? Again, the age old questions we can never seem able to answer offer themselves for our consideration.