The Minister for Social and Family Affairs yesterday defended a new anti-poverty blueprint against criticisms by lobby groups that it contained no new strategies, policies or resources.
Ms Coughlan insisted the two-year National Action Plan against Poverty and Social Exclusion provided "a clear road map towards the building of a fairer society".
The plan is part of an EU-wide drive for co-operation among member-states on tackling poverty and social exclusion by 2010. It is separate to the National Anti-Poverty Strategy, Building an Inclusive Society, which was revised last year and sets about 36 poverty-reduction targets, many of which are scheduled to be met by 2007.
Launching the EU-inspired report yesterday, Ms Coughlan described it as "a stage in the process of making a decisive impact on poverty by 2010 and beyond".
The document outlines current initiatives and progress made towards meeting existing anti-poverty targets, which the Government says are relevant to the priority objectives identified by the EU plan.
The targets cited in the plan published yesterday that are already part of the domestic anti-poverty strategy include increasing the lowest rate of weekly social welfare payment to the equivalent of €150 a week by 2007 and eliminating long-term unemployment as soon as circumstances permit, but not later than 2007.
The European Anti-Poverty Network Ireland, which represents more than 100 organisations, criticised the lack of new targets in the plan launched yesterday, and questioned the Government's commitment to tackling poverty.
Their criticisms echoed those made by the same groups about the Government's first two-year report under the EU common social inclusion strategy, which was published in 2001.
"This is the second two-year action plan produced by the Government . . . and, like the first one, it has no important new strategies, policies or resources," said Mr Brian Carty, the network's policy officer. "It is not so much a plan as a report on current trends."
Responding to these criticisms, Ms Coughlan said: "There has been much criticism that the plan is reflecting Government policy. I would feel that the implementation of the policy reflected in the plan is important."
Ms Alice Leahy, from the Trust charity for homeless people, told the Minister at the launch that a lot of people working with vulnerable groups are disillusioned with the bureaucracy they face. "All we seem to be coming up with is glossier reports with more waffle and more fancy buzz words," she said.