An equality expert will warn today that the more unequal Irish society becomes, the less the privileged are likely to care about poverty or inequality.
Mr John Baker of the Equality Studies Centre at UCD is a keynote speaker at a national conference today, Narrowing the Gap Between Rich and Poor, organised by the Government advisory group, the Combat Poverty Agency.
He will say Government policies which increase inequality, such as steps in the last Budget cutting the higher rate of tax and reducing Capital Gains Tax, strengthen the assumption that the "privileged have no serious obligations to their fellow citizens and that the State has no right to transfer `their' money to the poor."
There is no simple relationship between public sentiment and social realities, according to Mr Baker.
"But it stands to reason that the greater the degree of inequality in a society the less the privileged are likely to care about either poverty or inequality," he added.
"This is partly because such concerns raise serious doubts about the legitimacy of privilege, and so are deeply uncomfortable for privileged people to entertain. It is also a function of social distance and segregation, making it easier for poor people to be stereotyped and disparaged."
Meanwhile, the Combat Poverty Agency has recommended that a rights-based approach be applied to tackling poverty in Ireland.
Ireland has one of the highest child poverty rates in Europe and up to 20 per cent of the population live in households with incomes below half the national average.
In his address to today's conference the agency's director, Mr Hugh Frazer, will urge the Government in its current review of the National Anti-Poverty Strategy to frame its policies and actions taking account of economic and social rights.