Reform needed 'to narrow poverty gap'
Major reforms are needed to close the widening gap between the country's rich and poor, a state-sponsored body warned today.
Ireland has one of the lowest levels of social welfare in Europe, despite improvements in the economy, said the Combat Poverty Agency.
Social security transfers fell from 14.2% of GDP in 1989 to 9.6% in 1999, a report launched by the group showed.
Helen Johnston, director of Combat Poverty, said the aim of the study was to find out what measures were needed to reduce and eventually eliminate poverty.
She said: “Consistent poverty has declined in Ireland and we welcome that.
“But if we look at levels of income right across the income distribution, we can see that Ireland still has a relatively high proportion of the population living on relatively low incomes compared with our other European neighbours.”
As well as tackling poverty directly, the Government had to invest directly in its social services, to avoid forcing people to buy their health and education, Ms Johnston said.
She said: “We still have relatively high levels of economic growth and the question we have to ask ourselves now is how do we want to invest that growth?
“We may have to take some short-term cuts and so on, or adjustments. But in the longer term, are we investing in our education system, and in our health services? That is not without reform.
“We do need reforms and we all recognise that, in terms of where the money goes and how it is spent.”
The reduction in social welfare spending in Ireland has mirrored the trend in the United States, said the report’s author, Dr Virpi Timonen.
But Social and Family Affairs Minister Mary Coughlan said a number of factors explained low expenditure in Ireland.
These included its lower proportion of elderly people compared to other countries, and employment levels that are among the lowest in the EU.
Relative poverty had risen because of the dramatic increase in incomes resulting from the high level of economic growth, Ms Coughlan said.
She added: “It is expected this gap will decline in future years as social welfare rates continue to catch up.
“Ireland’s social expenditure is poised to increase significantly in the coming decades as the population ages and the pension schemes mature.”
