Report reveals how divide in Irish society continues to widen

With the highest number of children in jobless households, Ireland risks creating a vicious cycle of poverty and social exclusion, reports Ann Cahill, Europe Correspondent

Less than half the annual report on the state of Ireland Inc from the European Commission deals with the well-rehearsed areas of banks, macro economics, government budgets, debts, and deficits.

The rest of the 64-page document focuses on the everyday issues of people’s lives — from work to health, education to water, poverty to tax — and it notes the aims, aspirations, successes, and failures of all the Government’s good intentions.