Modern Ireland can be a frightening place for people who have not benefited from the Celtic Tiger boom, President Mary McAleese said today.
Mrs McAleese told the eighth annual Ceifin Conference in Ennis that many were left behind by a high-achieving and consumerist culture but that the country now had its biggest-ever opportunity to create a truly equal society.
Addressing the Filling The Vacuumtheme of the event, the president urged consumers to carry their shopping bag in one hand and their conscience in the other.
"For those who seem to have missed the boat named the Celtic Tiger, modern Ireland can be a very scary place where all you can see in front of you are the far-off backs of those who are making rapid headway in this new time of opportunity," she said.
"It is simply unthinkable that our final destination could be the cul-de-sac of complacent consumerism when we are the first generation to have within our reach the great destination of an egalitarian republic where the strong are driven by a restless and unselfish duty of care for the weak and where every life is given the chance to fully blossom."
Mr McAleese explained that many groups in society had been bypassed by the Celtic Tiger: the long-term unemployed, the disabled, the elderly, lone parents, carers, children born into dysfunctional families, drug addicts, Travellers and vulnerable foreign workers in insecure and poorly paid employment.
"Those who are running the race reasonably well, they can tell too of the pressures the race puts even on those who got off to a good start - housing costs, childcare, long commutes, two-job households, high debt, shortage of quality time."
The President urged young people to be active citizens in society rather than active consumers.
"We have young people, the best educated in our history, with more money in their pockets and more freedom than any generation before them. But sadly some of them, though thankfully not all, fail to see the ugly wastefulness, the obvious dangers and sheer irresponsibility of binge-drinking and of experimenting with drugs."
Co Clare-based Ceifin is a think-tank for social change led by Fr Harry Bohan, which derives its name from Ceibhfhionn, the Celtic goddess of inspiration.
PA