It’s official - the rich are getting richer in Ireland and the poor are getting poorer.
A damning new report has confirmed the gap between rich and poor is widening in the recession hit economy.
Poor households have seen their disposable income drop by a whopping 18 per cent in the last year.
Rich households, in stark contrast, have seen their disposable income rise by four per cent over the same period.
The figures are included in a new report from Social Justice Ireland which highlights that the top 10 per cent of the population receives almost 14 times more disposable income than the poorest ten per cent.
The report also states that in 1980 the figure was eight times more.
Social Justice Ireland boss Fr Sean Healy has slammed government policy and called for major reform in light of the figures.
He told the Irish Sun newspaper: “There is something profoundly wrong with Government decisions that produce this lopsided distribution of income favouring the richest when Ireland’s poor and middle-income people struggle to make ends meet in these extremely difficult times.
“The current strategy being pursued by Government is making the situation worse. Its approach to fiscal adjustment is both unjust and unnecessary in a country with one of the lowest total tax-takes in the developed world.
“Decisions have been taken that have seriously damaged Ireland’s most vulnerable people, that place a disproportionate burden on their shoulders and seriously damage the social infrastructure on which they depend.”
The latest Social Justice Ireland document also notes that more than 700,000 people are at risk of poverty with an income equivalent of under €207.94 a week for a single person or €482.41 a week for a household of four.
It says that more than 200,000 children in Ireland are also living in poverty.
SJI research and policy analyst Michelle Murphy said: “The situation has become much worse over the past 30 years.
“The most important requirement in tackling poverty is the provision of sufficient income to enable people to live life with dignity. No anti-poverty strategy can be effective without a policy addressing low incomes.”
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.KevinKehoe | Jul 24, 2012, 08:44 AM EDT
Still can't answer ?
WoundedKnee | Jul 20, 2012, 05:02 PM EDT
kevinkehoe: Hopefully you won't try to poison this site with any more of your nasty bigotry and hate speech. I don't know how many posts you've made, but in all those posts you haven't made one substantive point. If you're an example of the Fianna Fail Mass Immigrationists, it's no wonder they make sure not to have debate on the subject in Ireland, because you're incapable of rational and fact-based discussion. It is quite obvious what your policy is for Ireland, round up young Irish men and women and ship them out to Australia, Britain, Canada etc. You're a racist fanatic, shame on you.
KevinKehoe | Jul 20, 2012, 04:38 PM EDT
woundedknee:I taught as much, still no answer, just name calling again. “ I will respond in part” what bull is that, you cant respond. Do you actually know what the words racism and bigoted mean. Look in the mirror you might find the answer staring back at you. It quiet obvious what your solution might be to foreign nationals in Ireland, round them up put them in camps and ship them out, is that it. People like you wind up hatred and hope other people will do the dirty deed for you. Shame on you. Don't bother to reply, just crawl back under the rock you came from under.
WoundedKnee | Jul 20, 2012, 12:21 PM EDT
Kevinkehoe: Since your last post, while still quite rude, is not as foulmouthed as your previous eforts, I will respond in part. I have told you that your claim of "millions" of Irish living abroad is widely inflated and unrealistic. Here's one effort to calculate the true figure, it comes out at much less than one million. Our site doesn't permit URLs any time I have tried to put them in a post, so you'll have to get on to the site globalirish dot ie and look for the factsheet titled "how-many-irish-people-live-abroad". See how rational people argue their case--racist creeps like you could learn something from them. What a preposterous slur by bigoted garbage like you--the slur that people who seek a rational and measured immigration policy for Ireland are "racists". What a fool you are--by that "logic" the greatest anti-racists in Ireland are the capitalist class and Bertie Ahern, since it was they who instituted the policy of Mass Importation of cheap labor! What an imbecile you are--according to your lousy racism, 80% of the Irish people are "racists", since that's how many voted to restrict Irish citizenship a few years back! You're quite the fascist, aren't you--you don't even respect a popular plebiscite.
KevinKehoe | Jul 19, 2012, 06:15 PM EDT
Woundedknee: You still cant provide an answer can you. By the way you are the abusive fool as anyone reading these posts can see. I posted a comment and your response was abusive. So you got it back,what do you expect, and there is no curse, foulmouthed or swear word in my posts. Yet you still haven't read or fail to understand the text I wrote. I condemned the last government which was Fianna Fail and there side salad The Greens and likewise the present government. What strikes me most about your posts is your anti migrant and racist thinking, and pointing the blame on them for the ills of Ireland. “I’ll say again” I think the best solution to help solve the inequality in Ireland is to vote out the present regime and of course the last one, now were is there racist or fascist in that. Now whats your idea ?. I am working class and believe in a true all Ireland republic with the consent of all the citizens on this island. I am totally against my friends and family HAVING to immigrate because of the corrupt croneyism on this island. So lets have your answer on the subject in question.
WoundedKnee | Jul 19, 2012, 03:00 AM EDT
You're an abusive fool, kehoe. Your utterly ignorant claim that there are "millions" of Irish overseas shows how uninformed you are. If you weren't such a foulmouthed fool, I might start exchanging statistics with you, such as the Irish Dept of Foreign Affairs figures on the numbers of Irish passport holders. But all you want to do is to scream in support of your beloved Fianna Fail party's implementation of the Irish ruling class's project of importing vast numbers of docile foreign workers. You actually hate the Irish working class, because you want them replaced in their own country by foreigners. I certanly won't debate with an inarticulate (why do you have to curse so much?) worthless racist, and your fascist attempt to silence me certainly will prove futile.
KevinKehoe | Jul 18, 2012, 03:45 PM EDT
WoundedBrain. You mouth off but still haven't said how you think changes should be made to the policies of the ruling class. Is it beyond your brain cells. You haven't got an answer have you, except blab off about foreign migrants. The ruling class would love you for that, focussing your venom on foreigners instead of them. I don't know were you live, I live in Ireland, by the size of your brain power you probably live on the Planet Zonk. There are millions of Irish working and Living overseas. Even in my large family at home we still have more relatives living in the UK, USA, Australia, Canada, Spain than I have in Ireland, and I’m only counting the ones who left from the 1950’s to the late 1980’s. If the people of the above countries had the same minuet brain cells as you they would run the Irish out, but thankfully they don't and there countries are the better for it. Now if you can post a solution to the problem you have been mouthing about, do, but you wont will you, because Irish Central would more than likely delete it ?. So come on lets here your great solution. If not shut up.
WoundedKnee | Jul 18, 2012, 10:12 AM EDT
KevinKehoe: There aren't "millions" of native Irish working overseas. Where did you get that crazy figure? And you want young Irish men and women to have to emigrate to facilitate the arrival of foreign migrants. That's very nice of the Irish, to leave their country in order to let other nationalities take over. You obviously don't care about the Irish working class, you're singing the bosses' song. You sound like a fraud.
KevinKehoe | Jul 17, 2012, 06:21 PM EDT
wonundedknee. And how would propose changing the disastrous policies of the Irish ruling class who have run this country since 1922.[ The politicians, and the same dynasty of top end civil servants etc. There is only two ways I can think of, if theres no democracy have a revolution and if you have democracy vote them out. But the problem in Ireland is almost 50% [mainly working class] don't bother to vote and never have, hence why the same two conservative parties have ruled this Island since 1922. If you apply your your way of thinking around the world there would be millions more native Irish shipped back to Ireland for talking other people jobs. I do agree there is some exploitation going on in Ireland but not in my place of work, the two Poles with us get the same rates as us natives and deserve it . People have been migrating for a better way of life since we came down from the trees and its not going to change. If a true Republic ever happens in Ireland then we might see equality among the citizens and it is achievable if everyone votes for it.
WoundedKnee | Jul 16, 2012, 11:14 PM EDT
kevinkehoe> DOn't write nonsense. It's not about blaming foreign workers, it's about changing the disastrous policies of the Irish ruling class. If you can't see that you must be in Disneyland.
amkilshane | Jul 16, 2012, 10:38 PM EDT
Wounded knee the situation you describe applies equally to the middle class in America, just insert exploited illegals and outsourcing and you have the same result.People working for low wages and contract jobs with no benefits and the American dream seems far away.
PatriciaMarya | Jul 16, 2012, 08:03 PM EDT
Considering the comment about voting, it is the same in the States - elsewhere citizens die in order to vote, but so many here are too lazy or to MTV'd out to care. Thought: someone recently wrote a letter to the editor in which they stated that in Australia, you are fined if you DON'T vote! With so many Irish emmigrating to Oz, let me know - is this true? Would seem the only way to get people involved is to fine them. This writer also stated that since there is a 95% usual turn-out, the candidates know that they have to appeal to all, not just the wealthy underwriters. Seems to be the logical way to get people involved since our Congress only cares about the wealthy. Thoughts?
merefalow | Jul 16, 2012, 06:28 PM EDT
that divide is world wide,grand canyon proportions in uk.and going to get worse,raging inflation will come on the tail of quantitative easing.ie,money printing.if it was that easy Somalians would all be driving rollers,only the poor will really suffer.
merefalow | Jul 16, 2012, 06:22 PM EDT
yes wounded knee got it right, don't pay a decent living wage,call the indigenous workforce lazy plebs because they wont work for nothing,and import a desperate poor workforce easily controlled with little or no rights who will work for peanuts.the rich aren't stupid,we are,for being so placid and uneducated.
KevinKehoe | Jul 16, 2012, 04:45 PM EDT
The bottom line is, after the last shower of gangsters that ran the country into the skip [dumpster] an new election was called and it was widely know and published, that Kenny & Co. were socializing & golfing with the same shower of parasites that the last government mixed with. But low and behold the Irish went and voted them in along with a lap dog Labour party. Mind you over 40% of the people didn't get off there ar-e to go out to vote anyway. So don't be blaming foreign workers thats just plane ignorant, the problem lies with our own people. In the recent referendum a whopping 50% didn't bother vote. In a lot of the world people fight and die so as they have the right to democracy and cast there vote, need I say more.
WoundedKnee | Jul 16, 2012, 10:32 AM EDT
The greatest coup pulled by the rich of Ireland was the Mass Immigration project. By importing vast throngs of foreign labor, the rich were able to get cheap and docile workers for their factories and businesses, staff for their coffee-shops and restaurants, for their gardens, cheap domestic maids for their homes etc. Of course they made sure that the settlers didn't get to live in the neighborhoods of the rich--you won't find Russians, Poles, Africans etc resident in the smug Dublin suburbs like Glenageary and Foxrock. No, the settlers were injected in their hundreds of thousands into the communities of the Irish working-class. The rich paid these people minimum wage, and often less. However, when the settlers got sick, it wasnt the rich who paid for their care. When the settlers got pregnant, it wasn't the rich who paid for their maternity cover. And when those settlers' babies got a little older, it isn't the Irish rich who are paying for their education, even though the education of workers' children is being hindered by larger class sizes and big numbers of non-speakers of English or Irish. Irish workers gained nothing from Mass Immigration, and lost a lot. Mass Immigration--the rich pocketed the profits, and the taxpayer picks up the tab!
boydshield | Jul 16, 2012, 09:43 AM EDT
Salary differences, - what is considered poor, middle class, and rich in Ireland?