There are parts of west Tallaght in west County Dublin that are truly shocking. That is not to pass adverse judgment on the people living there but it is to emphasise that a person born there starts life at an immediate and obvious disadvantage - obvious to any visitor from other parts of the country. Shabby roads, broken street lights, illegally discarded refuse and burnt-out cars, homes that often appear unloved, damage that goes unrepaired for long periods and boarded up windows all contribute to giving large parts an air of decay and underclass - in sum, an air of hopelessness.
There are some 22,000 people living in Brookfield, Fettercairn, Killinarden and Jobstown. Of these, 30 per cent are under age 15 and 54 per cent are under 25. Over 10 per cent of people are out of work - double the national average but an improvement for sure on the truly shocking 33 per cent rate in 1996. Some parts of all sections of society have benefited from the economic boom in recent years and that needs to be acknowledged. But on a variety of yardsticks, west Tallaght is a deprived area. Over half of people live in local authority housing and the number of lone-parent families is well above national average. One third of all homes are lone-parent homes and a quarter of all households is headed by a lone parent with a child under 15 years - four times the national average. Low education achievement is endemic. In a study a year ago, How are our kids?, the Tallaght Child Development Initiative concluded that the majority of children in the area were carrying a "disproportionate burden of the inequality and poverty characterising Irish society as a whole".
The results of that study were behind an initiative launched yesterday by Bertie Ahern which aims to address the area's social problems in a way that none previously has. Community based efforts, and state and local authority programmes will co-ordinate and integrate their activities in a manner that has not been tried before. That at least is the theory and in setting out their stall, the various parties to the initiative have made a good start. They need €8 million in Government funds over three years if success is to be an achievable goal. The Irish-American philanthropist Chuck Feeney has promised to match the Government, euro for euro.
This is an initiative that deserves support. Yesterday those who heard Mr Ahern praise it could not quite make out the unambiguous promise of aid for which they had hoped. Mr Ahern should make sure the forthcoming budget does not miss this chance to help people who really need and deserve it.