Wealthy Ireland 'an unequal society'
Ireland has become one of the most unequal countries in the developed world, Government advisers warned today.
A new survey by the National Economic and Social Forum found that while the country is wealthier than ever, it is also a more unequal society.
The think-tank reported that the richest 20% of the working-age population were earning 12 times as much as the poorest 20 % – one of the highest levels of income inequality among any of the 30 OECD countries.
The NESF report entitled ‘Creating a More Inclusive Labour Market’ also warned that labour force growth is expected to fall to 0.5% annually in the coming years, compared with annual growth of 3.5 % over the past decade.
And the authors argued that while higher immigration could boost labour force growth in the short term, it may become increasingly more difficult and costly to attract and integrate greater numbers of migrants.
Other key findings included:
:: Ireland is ranked 51 out of 56 countries in terms of equality of economic opportunity for women, with mothers being paid less than men.
:: Some 13% of young people leave school early and their unemployment rate is 18%. Some 63% of traveller children leave school early.
:: Nearly a quarter of our working age population lack functional literacy skills – the second highest illiteracy rate among 18 industrial economies.
:: Over 40% of our male working-age population (15-64) is low-skilled,
compared with 20% in Germany.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said the findings would be taken on board when deciding future social policy.
“The NESF provides a vital forum for discussion and debate by politicians and many interest groupings in our society,” he said.
“While employment continues to grow and the labour force now stands at record levels of over two million there are vulnerable people who find difficult to enter and stay in employment. The findings of the Report will provide a welcome input into policy development in the future in this area.”
The NESF urged the Government to take action now and include it in the current round of social partnership talks.
On immigration the advisers called for a fair immigration system to meet future skills needs. And they recommended longer term support measures be introduced such as training, education, housing and healthcare to help migrant workers and their families integrate.
The report warned that barriers to the labour market must be addressed, otherwise low qualified people will face increasing competition for jobs, leading to a growth in the number of dissatisfied low skilled workers and polarising communities.
Among the other recommendations, the think-tank called for improved coherence and effectiveness in the way €1bn is spent each year on labour market measures. And it suggested more efforts should be made to support and encourage people to stay in work.
In a bid to remove poverty traps, the NESF recommended an extension to the time households could keep secondary benefits and medical cards if a bid to show people it is worthwhile returning to work.
The NESF also noted the record number of redundancies in 2004, 23,400 in total with manufacturing jobs particularly hard hit. Donegal, Mayo, Cavan, Carlow, Waterford and Limerick were the worst affected.
“This pattern has major implications for the potential to increase our future living standards,” the report warned.
“The negative effect that job losses are having in these areas is being masked by the overall jobs growth nationally and the policy responses to deal with their problems have not been as strenuous as they ought to be.”
