Ireland's recent prosperity has not benefited all and has marginalised and excluded a sizeable number of people, according to a new book. The book, commissioned by the Government advisory body, the Combat Poverty Agency (CPA), says the marginalised include the long-term unemployed, single parents, Travellers, early school-leavers, small farmers and the elderly.
Rich and Poor, Perspectives on Tackling Inequality in Ireland states that Ireland is one of the most unequal societies in the European Union, with one of the lowest levels of public spending in the industrialised world, yet its Exchequer surpluses are among the highest.
The book analyses the causes and extent of social and economic divisions and attempts to "chart a course for a fairer, more equitable society". Eight social and economic commentators, policy-makers and researchers contribute. Its aim is to inform debate about how social spending impinges on inequality and poverty.
Speaking at its publication in Dublin, Sister Stanislaus Kennedy, who campaigns on poverty and homelessness, criticised the Government's current social and economic policies.
She said the book was a challenge to everyone who was part of and supported a society based on unjust values that suffered a huge loss of human potential and lacked social rights, whether they were conscious of it or not. She called for a "radical and fundamental change in our structures, systems, policies, procedures and strategies to promote a more equal distribution of resources, maximise equality and human potential and eradicate poverty".
The book shows that over the past 15 years public spending has fallen by nearly 10 per cent, while reduced taxes have disproportionately benefited the better-off. Since the late 1980s, social expenditure fell from 33 per cent of Gross National Product to about 24 per cent. It says Ireland is a low-tax economy and the State has the scope to spend much more on public services.
The CPA's director, Mr Hugh Frazer, said the publication "crystallises a fundamental question about the future of Irish society. Contributors have argued in an unambiguous way for more robust equality objectives in Irish social policy and spending. The agency's position is clear. Inequalities that are unfair undermine democratic society and cause and perpetuate poverty. A commitment to social justice demands that we work to promote greater equality as a strategy for eliminating poverty".
The text of the foreword of Combat Poverty's book is available on The Irish Times website at: www.ireland.com