Specific anti-poverty targets aimed at improving the situation of women and children should be adopted by the Government along with new measures on homelessness, health care, racism and people in low-paid employment, according to the National Economic and Social Forum (NESF). A report from the Forum on the National Anti-Poverty Strategy is a sobering reminder that unless some of the wealth generated by the Celtic Tiger is actively shared, we will perpetuate elements of an intolerant, unhealthy society with built-in social injustices.
Economic growth during the past decade has transformed Irish society and greatly reduced the level of consistent poverty within the State. Income per head has increased by an average of 65 per cent. There are an extra 430,000 people at work. Unemployment has fallen from 16 per cent to 4.5 per cent, with long-term unemployment falling to 2 per cent. But this positive news should not blind us to the reality that poverty still afflicts a large number of people and that the gap between rich and poor has , according to recent analyses, dramatically widened.
The harsh reality of Irish life is not disguised. Ireland, the report notes, "is a deeply unequal country, marked by one of the most unequal distributions of income in Europe, massive class inequalities in educational participation and entrenched intolerance towards minorities such as Travellers." In order to redress that situation, the NESF recommends that social inclusion units should be established at all levels, including regional and county authorities. The Forum says that the issue of poverty has become more complex in recent years with the addition of ethnic minorities.
A key complaint by the NESF concerns a lack of up-to-date Irish statistics with which to measure deprivation and social exclusion. It makes the point that anti-poverty targets set some years ago by the Government had been superseded by social advances by the time they were printed. This blundering about in the statistical gloom must stop. And policy-makers must ensure they have accurate and contemporary data to hand. Material available through the European Commission shows that Ireland and Greece are joint second, after Portugal, within the European Community in terms of the size of its low-income population. Last year, 21 per cent of Irish people had less than 60 per cent of average income, compared to 10 per cent in Holland.
Another complaint relates to a failure by a majority of Government Departments to apply anti-poverty strategies through their policies and programmes. In that regard, it specifically criticised the Department of Finance and found the Budget had not been fully poverty-proofed while the National Development Plan lacked evidence that reductions in poverty were a key guiding principle. It would seem that while the Government is formally committed to social partnership, it lacks rigour in the implementation of Cabinet decisions on poverty-proofing.
Social exclusion, based on educational disadvantage, is paid particular attention. The NESF expresses disappointment that while economic growth has improved the overall income situation for many people, little progress was made in meeting educational targets. It recommends that new literacy targets be set for adults and children. And it suggests that other quality-of-life indicators, such as health care and housing, should be introduced by the Government. The report is likely to feed into the deliberations of the social partners in the up-coming review of the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness. And, given that inflation has already gobbled up the modest increases granted to welfare recipients in last December's Budget, there will be much to discuss.