EAPN Ireland Calls on Government to Back Target to Cut Poverty by 25%
EAPN Ireland Calls on Government to Back Target to Cut Poverty by 25%
Dublin, Tuesday March 16th, 2010: The European Anti-Poverty Network Ireland is calling on the Irish government to back the proposed European target to reduce the at risk of poverty rate by 25% by 2020. Given the governments own target to eliminate consistent poverty in Ireland by 2016, the Irish Government has an absolute responsibility to play a key role in the ambition to lift 20 million people out of poverty in the next ten years, according to Anna Visser Director of the European Anti-Poverty Network Ireland. A 25% poverty reduction target is an important political step on the road to eliminating poverty in Ireland and the European Union.
The proposed poverty target was set out by the President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso in ‘Europe 2020 – A European Strategy for Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth’. The document which will be discussed at next week’s Spring Council Meeting in Brussels on 24th and 25th March, succeeds the Lisbon Agenda as the European Union’s ‘roadmap’ for economic, social and environmental progress.
“It is imperative that the Irish Government supports and adopts this target. Failure to back the adoption of a concrete European target would send a hugely negative message about the government’s own commitment to eliminate consistent poverty by 2016, to the 625,000 Irish people who live every day at risk of poverty, and to the 84 million people who live at risk of poverty across the European Union. A familiar refrain from the Government in the run-up to last December’s budget was ‘everyone must share in the pain’. It is now time for the Government to prove that everyone will share in the recovery,” said Ms. Visser.
The European Anti-Poverty Network Ireland is calling for the Taoiseach Brian Cowen TD and Minister for Social and Family Affairs Mary Hanafin TD to urgently clarify whether the Irish Government will be supporting the adoption of the target. 2010 is the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
Relative/At Risk of Poverty: A person is at risk of poverty if they have an income that is less than what is regarded as the norm in society, giving a lower than normal standard of living. It is “relative” because it is measured by how much less it is relative to the income of the majority of people. It is usually expressed as a percentage figure, e.g. the 60% relative income poverty line is 60% of the disposable income of the average household.” This is the most common measure of poverty used across the EU, where it is often referred to as the ‘at risk of poverty’ level.
Consistent Poverty: This is the poverty measurement preferred by the Irish Government and developed independently by the Irish Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI). This measure identifies the proportion of people who are both relatively poor (less than 60% of median income) and who are also deprived of at least two of the 11 goods or services considered essential for a basic standard of living. Click here for details of the indicators.
Poverty Targets: Ireland has no relative/at risk of poverty target. The poverty target in Ireland’s National Action Plan for Social Inclusion2007-2016 is “to reduce the number of those experiencing consistent poverty to between 2% and 4% by 2012, with the aim of eliminating consistent poverty by 2016.”
Relative/At Risk of Poverty Rates in Ireland
- In 2008, 14.4% of the population were at risk of poverty.
- Children were the most at risk group in Ireland with an at risk of poverty rate of 18%
- Lone Parent Households were the most at risk household group with an at risk of poverty rate of 36.4%
- The 2008 at risk of poverty rate in monetary terms was 12,455.
- Social Transfers (e.g. pension, unemployment benefit) are very effective tools for reducing poverty. Without social transfers, over 40% of children and nearly 90% of over 75s would be at risk of poverty.
Consistent Poverty Rates in Ireland
- The percentage of Irish people living in consistent poverty in 2008 was 4.2%.
- The consistent poverty rate for the unemployed in 2008 was 9.7%.
- The consistent poverty rate for at work/retired people was 1.1%.
- Children remain the most vulnerable group with 6.3% (about 63,000) living in consistent poverty.
- Nearly one in five (17.8%) lone parent households were in consistent poverty in 2008.
For More Information Contact
Mark Byrne
Communications Officer
European Anti-Poverty Network Ireland
22 Great Strand Street
Dublin 1
01-8745737 / 0877587922
Tags: EU 2020, european poverty targets, poverty targets in ireland
[...] EAPN Ireland Calls on Government to Back Target to Cut Poverty by … [...]