Rich-poor gap 'widened by €243 a week'

The gap between Ireland's rich and poor widened by €243 a week during the first five years of the Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats coalition, the Conference of Religious in Ireland has claimed.

Condemning what it called "a major scandal and a sad indictment of Government priorities", the group said it based its calculations on a comparison between the disposable income of a single person on €50,000 a year with that of someone who is long-term unemployed. The calculation includes the effect of the Special Savings Incentive Scheme, which CORI says already guarantees a €14 weekly increase in the take-home pay for 2003 of those who availed of the scheme to its €250-a-month maximum.

The conference adds that "coincidentally", this is the same amount its justice commission is urging the Government to add to the lowest social welfare rates in this year's budget.

But the commission is also urging the introduction of much more radical change, in the form of a "basic income system" for every citizen in the State.

Accusing the Government of choosing to "betray" the most vulnerable members of society, the commission adds: "While economic growth has produced unprecedented prosperity in recent years, Ireland's poorest people have been effectively excluded from what is required to live life with dignity. Radical policy change is urgently required to eliminate this scandal."

The proposed basic income scheme would replace the social welfare system, guaranteeing a tax-free minimum income, regardless of means, for all.

The scheme has many advantages, CORI says, including promotion of gender equality and respect for "forms of work other than paid employment".

It should also be welcomed by employers, because they would no longer "be in competition with the social welfare system".

Arguing that the traditional tax and welfare systems were designed for a "different era" and were no longer suited to the task of eliminating poverty, CORI says a range of studies throughout Europe shows that the basic income system can work. Tackling poverty is a complex task, the group admits, "but the most important requirement is the provision of sufficient income to enable people to live life with dignity".

It adds: "When a country has the required resources, it stands indicted if it chooses to allocate its resources in a way that does not ensure that every person has the minimum required."