Poverty Watch 2024: Ending Poverty Must be Top of the Political Agenda

As talks on Government formation get underway, it is crucial all political parties put the elimination of poverty at the top of the political agenda so that it forms a central pillar of the next Programme for Government, The European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN) Ireland said today as it published its annual Poverty Watch Ireland report.

The European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN) Ireland’s Poverty Watch Ireland 2024 is published on International Human Rights Day as a reminder to politicians involved in government formation talks: poverty is a human rights violation and ending poverty is a political choice. EAPN Ireland calls on the next Government to commit to adopting and implementing the concrete, evidence-based recommendations in this report, and to put the eradication of poverty at the top of the policy agenda.

“Successive Governments have failed to meet Ireland’s poverty reduction targets and to live up to the State’s human rights obligations when it comes to preventing people being pushed into poverty. What we need to see from the next Government is a real commitment to eradicating, not just alleviating, poverty. And this must be matched by high levels of political leadership, will and ambition. Priority must be given to addressing the systemic and structural root causes of poverty, social exclusion and inequality, rather than short-term, reactive or once-off measures. This can only be achieved in any effective way though the implementation of a genuinely integrated strategy across all Government policy” said Paul Ginnell, Director of the European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN) Ireland.

“Despite some progress, poverty, social exclusion and inequality continue to be very real problems for many people in Ireland. We can see from the ongoing experience of our members, and backed up by endless amounts of data, that the same groups and communities continue to experience the highest levels of poverty and social exclusion. Eliminating poverty, social exclusion and inequality means ensuring no one is left behind. This requires strengthening the focus on the groups and communities most impacted, and giving an effective and meaningful voice to people experiencing poverty in how policies are developed and implemented,” Mr Ginnell continued.

ANTI-POVERTY STRATEGY

“If the next Government is serious about effectively addressing poverty, it needs to build on the current Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025 and develop and implement a comprehensive and truly whole-of-government and human rights-based anti-poverty strategy, which addresses the multidimensional nature of poverty. This should be based on the objective of eliminating consistent poverty by 2030, with legislative, policy, administrative and other measures to ensure this is achieved, and the allocation of adequate resources for its implementation,” Mr Ginnell said.

EMPLOYMENT, SOCIAL PROTECTION AND POVERTY

“A living wage that meets the cost of living, and the availability of ‘decent work’ must be addressed in the context of preventing and addressing poverty. Decent work includes appropriate and safe working conditions, where the rights of employees are respected, regular and consistent hours, as well as wages that meets the cost of living. Our next government needs to do much more to address the structural and institutional barriers that hinder marginalised and disadvantaged groups from accessing the labour market. But solely or primarily focusing on work is not enough: in-work poverty continues to be a reality. One in five people in consistent poverty are in work. We need to ensure everyone, in or out of the labour market, has sufficient resources to live a life in dignity,” said Mr Ginnell.

“The last Programme for Government committed to protect core weekly social welfare rates. However, while the nominal value of core social welfare rates has increased, there has been a reduction in their real value since 2020. For more than three quarters of households the income supports provided from social welfare are inadequate to meet minimum needs. The next Government must ensure Ireland’s social welfare support is based on the cost of living and what is adequate to lift people out of poverty. As such, it must be benchmarked against a minimum standard of living to ensure a dignified and decent life for all, and enable people to fully participate in society. Social protection should be recognised as a human right and a social good, and reflected as such in social policy,” Mr Ginnell continued.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC DISCRIMINATION

“The Government will also need to tackle the challenges and procedural barriers that hinder people’s ability to access their rights. This includes socio-economic and other forms of discrimination, bias and stigma. The lack of understanding of the reality and barriers faced by people experiencing poverty can lead to negative stereotypes and a tendency to “blame” and stigmatise people for their situation, creating a false dichotomy between welfare recipients as ‘deserving’ or ‘undeserving’. It is crucial that the next Government commits to the inclusion of socio-economic status as a ground in equality legislation,” Mr Ginnell said.

ACCESS TO ESSENTIAL SERVICES

“While poverty is about income, it is also associated with inadequate access to essential public services, such as housing, healthcare, transport and early childhood education and care. Ensuring income adequacy for all must go hand in hand with investment in essential services. Our Poverty Watch report outlines a range of recommendations we are calling on the next Government to adopt and deliver to tackles some of the most pressing issues. The next Government must commit to ensuring universal access to quality, affordable and sustainable essential public services and supports for all people, based on need and without discrimination of any kind. Without access to quality essential services, it is not possible to effectively reduce poverty,” said Mr Ginnell.

“Tax revenue is essential for addressing many of the challenges facing Ireland and for the delivery of quality essential public services and supports. We need a tax system that can meet the spending challenges of the present and future. We need to ensure it doesn’t negatively impact people experiencing poverty or on lower incomes, so it has to be as fair, progressive and sustainable as possible, and tackle inequality through the redistribution of income, wealth and resources,” Mr Ginnell continued.

Read Poverty Watch Ireland 2024 here.