Help those in poverty now

URGENT Government action is needed to help the 700,000 people who have fallen below the poverty line as a result of coronavirus.

Social Justice Ireland warned with more than a million people on benefits the number could spike.

Spokesman Fr Sean Healy said at the launch of its Focus 2020: “Life on a low income is the norm for a large proportion of our society.

“Prior to the crisis, one in every seven people in Ireland lived with an income below the poverty line; about 680,000 people.

“Looking ahead, these numbers look set to rise as the very uneven impact of the Covid-19 unfolds.

“The recent Department of Finance Stability Programme

Update projections for unemployment point to an optimistic scenario where unemployment remains high for the next 12-24 months.

“When recovery comes, it is likely low income workers, and employees with precarious conditions, will be the last to experience it.

“Without a concerted policy effort, many will be stuck in poverty for some time. Eliminating poverty should be a key priority.”

IF proof were needed to show Ireland is an extremely unequal society the figures that reveal 700,000 people who have fallen below the poverty line provide it.

This shocking statistic is a damning indictment of a relatively wealthy country that condemns so many citizens, including hundreds of thousands of children, to a life of misery and want.

Even before the pandemic struck, inequality was rife here and the country’s economic growth did not have a positive impact on the lives of a sizeable percentage of the population.

Instead of the situation getting better as the economy improved, the number of people living in poverty has been rising since 2009.

With more than a million relying on benefits – which almost certainly will be reduced in the coming weeks – there is a risk thousands more will be plunged into poverty.

There is also an increasing number of people who have a job falling into the poverty trap because wages have remained static while prices have continued to rise.

The reality is that in recent years, Ireland has become a land where rich were getting richer and the poor are getting poorer and this has come about by design rather than accident.

The parties attempting to form a new administration must ensure that eliminating poverty is a major priority in any programme for government.