Let’s face the real issue in our divided society

THE most depressing thing the annual UN human development report tells us is not that, yet again, Ireland is the second richest country in the EU and that it still has the highest poverty rate. We know this from other studies.

The depressing thing is the kneejerk response by Government to argue the toss over methodology and avoid the main message. Our members working on the ground don’t need statistics to tell them that poverty in the Celtic Tiger hasn’t gone away, but is growing.

Ireland, in many ways, has led the way in the EU in devising strategies to combat poverty, from the late Frank Cluskey’s initiation of the first European poverty programme 30 years ago to the current Government’s promotion of social inclusion in the draft EU constitution, to say nothing of our innovative national anti-poverty strategy.

So why do we still have the worst poverty rates in the EU and score so badly on other social indicators?

The European Commission’s joint inclusion report puts it clearly: “The major challenge (for Ireland) will be to ensure that resources are made available to implement the agreed targets.”

In other words we need to put some money where our mouth is. Ireland has one of the lowest overall tax takes in the EU, and it shows in our services, particularly for those on low incomes, and in our increasingly divided society.

Instead of fighting over figures, we need a public debate about the kind of society we want, and what this implies for our tax system. Why is this not the top issue on the political agenda?

Robin Hanan

European Anti-Poverty Network

Gardiner Row

Dublin 1