Religious group critical of report by group on tax and social welfare

THE recommendations of a group on tax and social welfare would widen the gap between the rich and poor if implemented, according to the Conference of Religious of Ireland (CORI).

The report of the group, launched by the Minister for Social Welfare, Mr de Rossa, in June, included a series of measures aimed at encouraging unemployed people to return to work.

It is expected the findings of the group, which was chaired by the former ICTU general secretary, Mr Donal Nevin, will have an important influence on the next Budget.

The group's recommendations would result in "most" of the £1,000 million it estimated would arise from revenue buoyancy over the next five years going to households at present in the top half of the income bracket, according to a response written by Fr Sean Healy, of CORI.

"For a government appointed body to recommend this should be done is bordering on the incredible, given the acknowledged present scale of poverty," Fr Healy stated.

In each of the "option packages" examined by the expert group to develop its own recommendations, the lowest percentage gains in net income would go to the poorest 40 per cent of households, according to Fr Healy.

For the poorest 30 per cent of households, the percentage gains range from minus 1.8 per cent to plus 0.9 per cent with a simple average across the packages of nil per cent.

For the top 60 per cent, the average percentage gain is 8 per cent.

"The failure to give sufficient priority to the poverty issue seems truly remarkable when the report was produced by a group with a strong representation from various Government Departments who are supposed to be developing a national anti poverty strategy."

Fr Healy disagreed with a finding of the group that, seeking to widen the gap between employment and unemployment, "will necessarily disimprove the relative position of the unemployed".

However he supported and strongly urged the Government to follow the group's recommendation that £200 million of revenue buoyancy for each of the next five years should be kept in the taxi social welfare systems.

The group, which included a wide range of civil service and private sector experts, concluded that the tax and social welfare systems should be simpler and reformed in a coordinated way.

Changes should be made so that people facing a job offer, or in lower paid employment, could.be certain they were better off taking the available work than staying on unemployment.

The group concluded that around 60,000 people, 9.5 per cent of the unemployed, would gain little or nothing from moving into the workforce. Almost 6 per cent (5.8 per cent) of those in the workforce would be as well off if unemployed.