There are 15 black spots in Dublin city where one in four residents are unemployed and poverty is endemic, according to a city council report. This information is shocking at a time when politicians and commentators talk blithely of "full employment", growing wealth and rapid economic growth. The levels of acute poverty in those city areas have remained unchanged, or even worsened, during the decade of the Celtic Tiger economy and various anti-poverty strategies. In some cases, the deprivation is inter-generational.
This grim message is reinforced by Unicef figures, released this week, which show that 15.7 per cent of Irish children live in poverty: defined as residing in households with an income below 50 per cent of the national median. Among the 24 rich industrialised nations examined as part of the UN survey, the percentage is higher only in New Zealand, Italy, the US and Mexico.
Many of us have become smug and self-satisfied in our new-found wealth, reluctant to recognise the struggling groups left stranded by the economic tide. While private housing output increased massively, the Government's record on social housing is best forgotten. And public services for vulnerable groups, including children, ethnic minorities, lone parents, people with disabilities, the elderly and the homeless, have been patchy and inadequate.
There is hope that something effective might now be done. Earlier this week, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, who represents an inner city constituency, presided over the publication of the Dublin City Council report detailing the levels of poverty and social exclusion and proposing an integrated approach by all State agencies for the coming year. Under this strategy, Dublin has been divided into five regions and efforts will be made to address one particular problem in each of those areas. It is hoped this multi-agency approach will provide insights and information that will eventually help to break established cycles of deprivation in all areas.
The need to increase the output of social housing and to co-ordinate Government strategy became evident last year when the Department of Social Welfare cut back on rent allowances, even as the Department of the Environment failed to meet housing demands. Our record on building social housing for the least well off is one of the worst in Europe and, in future, the Government must ensure synchronisation and careful planning.
The Unicef report says that Ireland reduced its share of social spending - the proportion of GDP devoted to government social transfers - by 5 percentage points between 1990 and 2000.
Inter-generational poverty is a scourge with devastating consequences for those directly affected and for the local community. Consistent unemployment and poverty feeds into crime and anti-social behaviour. The cost, in human and economic terms, is huge. Initiatives such as the new multi-agency approach by Dublin City Council must succeed.