This year's Budget must benefit the disadvantaged in the same way last year's benefited the better off, says the director of the Combat Poverty Agency, Mr Hugh Frazer.
Speaking at yesterday's launch of the agency's annual report, he said economic projections were being surpassed again and the time was right to share the benefits of our positive economic position.
"We are urging the Government to give practical commitment to tackling poverty in the December Budget," he said. "This can be done by ensuring that people living in poverty, particularly those with children and those living in disadvantaged urban neighbourhoods and isolated rural communities, benefit most from the Budget."
The report said a political commitment to putting the reduction of poverty at the top of the Government's agenda was required. "In particular, the Budget in December 1997 was very disappointing in the priority it gave to tackling poverty. While it included a number of welcome measures to promote social inclusion, given the very favourable public finances and economic projections it fell far short of the reform needed to radically alter the lives of those who live in poverty.
"The most disappointing aspect was its lack of strategic direction in progressing measures with a clear anti-poverty focus, with the net effect of widening the gap between rich and poor."
The report said the benefits of the economic resurgence must be used to tackle poverty if Ireland was to avoid becoming an increasingly divided society.
Many long-term unemployed people have not shared in the growth in employment, it said. New jobs are being filled by young people, returned emigrants and women returning to the work force. At the same time, high levels of poverty continue, with up to one-third of the population at risk of poverty and 9 per cent to 15 per cent in persistent poverty. Ireland, said the report, has the second-highest national level of child poverty in the EU.
There was an increasing need to tackle the demoralising effect of long-term joblessness, the report said. Many long-term unemployed lack the relevant skills and qualifications and have low formal educational attainment. The Irish education system functions as a selection procedure for third-level and academic qualifications, leaving technical and vocational education as the poor relation. The labour market is dominated by the needs of technology companies.
Many long-term unemployed are disadvantaged in such a labour market. "Thus, we have the phenomenon of emerging skills shortages in industry coinciding with continuing significant long-term unemployment." The challenge, said the report, is to provide suitable programmes of support education, training and re-training for long-term unemployed people to enable them to compete for available jobs.