Anti-poverty groups dismiss plan as `an insult to poor people'

A new plan to tackle poverty and social exclusion has been called a disgrace by anti-poverty groups

A new plan to tackle poverty and social exclusion has been called a disgrace by anti-poverty groups. Father Sean Healy from the Conference of Religious of Ireland said the plan was "an insult to poor people".

The European Anti-Poverty Network Ireland, which represents more than 100 organisations, said the plan's weakness "raises doubts about the Government's seriousness in tackling poverty and social exclusion".

The two-year National Action Plan against Poverty and Social Exclusion was submitted to the European Commission last Friday, along with plans from the 14 other EU member-states.

Father Healy said the plan "does not give any priority to tackling the widening gap between rich and poor and fails completely to come up with proposals of a required scale to address the healthcare and housing waiting lists".

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He said it also failed to address the issue of asylum-seekers, who are among the most excluded.

"All in all, this plan is a sad reflection on a Government with the resources of the Celtic Tiger economy at its disposal. It fails completely to come to grips with the most pressing issues of poverty and social exclusion in Ireland today."

The European Anti-Poverty Network co-ordinator, Mr Robin Hanan, said: "The plan has no coherent strategy holding it together, no new actions planned, no new spending commitments, hardly any effective targets and not even new ways to make promises happen."

A spokeswoman for the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs said new targets could not be fixed until the revision of the strategy was completed next November.