Boom 'frees 250,000 from poverty'

BOOM times in our Celtic Tiger economy have helped free 250,000 people from the poverty trap, Social Affairs Minister Seamus Brennan claimed yesterday.

But the eradication of poverty in Irish society remains of the highest priority for the Government, he said at the launch of a major report by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).

The institute suggests it is time for a more up-to-date system of measuring "consistent poverty" in the light of our rapid economic progress and current living standards and expectations.