Ahern says `consistent' poverty reduced by 50%

The number of people in consistent poverty has almost halved since 1994, the Taoiseach Mr Ahern, said yesterday.

Launching a progress report of the National Anti-Poverty Strategy, Mr Ahern said the elimination of poverty was a core objective of Government policy.

The report, from the Economic and Social Research Institute, found that just 8 per cent of people lived in consistent poverty compared to 15 per cent in 1994.

The report said unemployment had been reduced to 4.3 per cent, below the target of 5 per cent by 2000, while long-term unemployment had been reduced from 3.1 per cent to 1.6 per cent, again below the target.

The report provided an overview of developments in social inclusion and anti-poverty initiatives in the areas of educational disadvantage, unemployment, income inadequacy, disadvantaged urban areas and rural poverty. Measures to combat social exclusion include setting new targets for the elimination of poverty in relation to women, children, older people, health and housing. Emerging causes of poverty, such as racism, will also be examined.

The Taoiseach said he was pleased the strategy represented "a very definite departure from business as usual". It moved beyond the abstract to an integrated concrete approach to the elimination of poverty, he said.

Mr Ahern said Government policy on poverty was filtering through in employment, education, tackling urban and rural poverty, the national development plan and the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness.