Poverty study - Brennan gets chance to prove himself

THE stark reality of life in the Celtic Tiger economy for people on the breadline is that the yawning gulf between rich and poor is rapidly getting wider.

That families who depend on unemployment benefit are struggling to survive is clear from a study by the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice which shows how difficult it is for lone parents and pensioners to make ends meet.

The study concludes people caught up in Ireland’s poverty crisis have less food than they require, must rely on second-hand clothing, and cannot afford to replace household equipment or keep warm. This graphic picture of hidden poverty provides newly appointed Social and Family Affairs Minister Seamus Brennan with an ideal opportunity to prove the pundits wrong.

Seen as a crypto PD, and generally expected to be more concerned with appeasing middle class voters than responding to people mired in poverty, Mr Brennan has the ideal chance to confound his critics by addressing the plight of the emerging poor, people who find life increasingly impossible.

Shamefully, in Europe’s fastest growing economy, those on ‘low-cost but acceptable’ household budgets are now deemed to be most at risk in society today.