Large numbers of people are living on "survival incomes" but the Government is refusing to address their situation, a Combat Poverty Agency (CPA) conference heard yesterday.
Sr Stanislaus Kennedy, life president of Focus Ireland, said 18.5 per cent of the population live on "survival incomes" of less than €209 a week for a single person and €485 for a family of four.
"This poverty is real, it is not virtual" she told The Irish Times. "The Government simply doesn't accept this."
While Sr Kennedy acknowledged that the numbers of people in consistent poverty here have fallen, she noted that 6.5 per cent of 15-65-year-olds - and 10 per cent of children - still live in consistent poverty. This definition of poverty is used by the Government and identifies the proportion of people with an income below a certain threshold who are deprived of two or more goods or services considered essential for a basic standard of living.
Displays of wealth by the affluent are visible everywhere, something which can further undermine the confidence of those on the margins, Sr Kennedy said.
"There is a social attitude that they have failed to grasp the opportunities offered by a success[ ful] society and this failure is culpable," she said.
"Lots of people are living on the margins, with no stake in society."
She called on the Government to ensure the provision of services is supported by a proper inspectorate and an adequately funded ombudsman, as well as a human rights approach to the provision of services.
Sr Kennedy was speaking during a conference organised by the CPA at Croke Park in Dublin yesterday to coincide with the publication of its book, Welfare Policy and Poverty.
In a series of essays contained in the book, it says that Government tax and welfare policies over the 10 years since the launch of the first National Anti-Poverty strategy have led to a significant reduction in the number of people living in income poverty.
This includes a 25 per cent reduction in the number of people living below 50 per cent of median national income between 1998 and 2007.
However, it also highlights a range of problems which remain, including the high number of children below the income poverty lines in Ireland, despite the country's "hugely improved" economic situation.
In a chapter on migration, author Jane Pillinger reveals that at 13 per cent, the rate of consistent poverty among Ireland's 420,000 immigrants is almost twice that of Irish people. This is despite the fact that they have higher employment rates and higher levels of education than Irish nationals.
In a chapter on health, author Cecily Kelleher outlines the replacement of a traditional pattern of "fairly universal disadvantage" with a "widening health inequality."
As a result, she proposes the implementation of health impact assessments for all public policies and comprehensive mother and child services across health, education and social welfare sectors.
She also advocates the removal of the "two tier" structure from both primary and acute hospital care, irrespective of the form of payment for services.
Acting director of the CPA, Kevin O'Kelly said it was his belief that the policies to tackle poverty are in place now, but that there is a need to ensure they are implemented.