Recovery strategy 'ignores' rights

AN INTERNATIONAL human rights group says Ireland has “disregarded its commitments under international human rights law” in responding to the economic crisis.

In its report, Mauled by the Celtic Tiger: Human Rights in Ireland's Economic Meltdown, the Centre for Economic and Social Rights said the Irish Government must "urgently integrate" human rights standards and principles into its economic recovery plan.

The report found the National Recovery Plan 2011-2014 prioritised “drastic cuts in social expenditures” instead of introducing “progressive tax reforms”.

Human rights principles had been “largely ignored” in Ireland’s recovery measures, it said, and the banking strategy risked limiting economic wellbeing and social rights “for many years to come”.

“The Government is not taking all necessary steps to comply with its international obligations to respect, protect and fulfil economic and social rights,” it said.

It suggested cuts in social protection and investment in health, housing, education and employment could have been prevented if Ireland’s “unjust and regressive tax regime” had been reformed.

The report said the Government should carry out a human rights risk assessment on economic policies since 2007 and use the findings to inform policy.

The report, produced by the organisation’s researcher and communications officer Luke Holland, was a desk study complemented with interviews with Amnesty International Ireland, the Irish Human Rights Commission and European Anti-Poverty Network.