THE ENERGY and application displayed by the Government in coming to the rescue of financial institutions and their shareholders has been broadly welcomed.
In that context, it will be instructive to witness its commitment to social partnership and to the protection of the most vulnerable sections of our society when details of the budget are unveiled. It will be a true measure of the Government's social conscience.
Representations made to Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan by a range of voluntary agencies in recent days have emphasised the need for remedial action in response to a growing number of homeless people. And they have charted rising levels of food and fuel poverty within the community. With unemployment at a 10-year high, that situation is likely to worsen, while at the same time social services funded by the State are being cut back as Ministers seek urgent savings.
Social partnership, as St Vincent de Paul vice-president John Monaghan has pointed out, is not just about pay and working conditions. It involves a complementary relationship between social policy and economic prosperity that the Government, employers and trade unions already agreed to. Now, when times have become more difficult, those commitments are being ignored and the most vulnerable people are being shuttled to the back of the queue.
Professor Monaghan has demanded action in three specific areas: social housing; early education intervention for children in disadvantaged areas and improved mental health services for young people. A crash programme involving social housing and rental accommodation would not only assist the building industry and reduce unemployment, it would give hope to the 43,000 people on waiting lists while reducing the risk of homelessness. Breaking the cycle of disadvantage would also require specific Government investments in youth education and mental services.
Progress has been made in recent years in responding to homelessness and in supporting voluntary agencies. Much of that good work could be undone, however, if necessary funding and services are cut back. Some 800,000 citizens cannot make ends meet or are at risk of poverty. A growing number of vulnerable people are being turned away from emergency beds in our major cities because of a shortage of accommodation. The St Vincent de Paul is looking to the budget for "clear and just political and economic decisions that will benefit the community as a whole". It is not too much to ask.