The Bishop of Down and Connor has warned that Northern Ireland
remains one of the most economically peripheral and disadvantaged
regions of the EU with approximately 110,000 children living in income
poverty.
In his address at the launch of the document, Challenging Poverty in Northern Ireland, which was produced jointly by the Northern Ireland Catholic Commission on Social Affairs (NICCOSA), the Society of St Vincent de Paul and St Mary’s University College, Belfast, Bishop Noel Treanor warned that 20 per cent of Northern Ireland’s children were living in ‘persistent poverty’, more than double that of the rest of the UK.
In his address at the launch of the document, Challenging Poverty in Northern Ireland, which was produced jointly by the Northern Ireland Catholic Commission on Social Affairs (NICCOSA), the Society of St Vincent de Paul and St Mary’s University College, Belfast, Bishop Noel Treanor warned that 20 per cent of Northern Ireland’s children were living in ‘persistent poverty’, more than double that of the rest of the UK.
The Bishop told the launch in Belfast that many people walking
through the streets of Northern Ireland are “masking exceptional levels
of uncertainty and fear.”
“According to the most recent Consumer Confidence Index for Northern
Ireland, at least one in four of the people we pass in the streets
believe they will be significantly worse off next year than they are
today. People are worried. Confidence is low. Hope in the future is
in short supply.”
The document, Challenging Poverty in Northern Ireland, highlights the extent of the challenges Northern Ireland faces. Drawing on a range of surveys it summarises the key features of poverty and social exclusion identified by statutory organisations and non-governmental agencies.
Citing some of the contributing factors for the plight of so many in the region, the Bishop blamed the confluence of global economic events, the fear of imminent cut-backs in the North’s budget and the dramatic reversal of fortune for the economy in the Republic.
The document, Challenging Poverty in Northern Ireland, highlights the extent of the challenges Northern Ireland faces. Drawing on a range of surveys it summarises the key features of poverty and social exclusion identified by statutory organisations and non-governmental agencies.
Citing some of the contributing factors for the plight of so many in the region, the Bishop blamed the confluence of global economic events, the fear of imminent cut-backs in the North’s budget and the dramatic reversal of fortune for the economy in the Republic.
Currently:
- 41% of individuals in lone parent families live in poverty;
- 33% of pensioners in rural areas live in poverty, highlighting the often forgotten theme of rural poverty and the distinctive issues associated with it;
- Northern Ireland has a higher proportion of households who are in receipt of tax credits than any other region in the UK, in other words, a higher proportion of ‘working poor’;
- 22% of the population of working age lack any qualifications, higher than any region in the UK;
- Health inequalities between poor and the better off remain significant;
- Homelessness has increased markedly in recent years.
The current recession, according to Bishop Treanor, has given rise to
new types of poverty as well as to new levels of poverty. “On the one
hand, the situation of those who have long lived below the poverty line
has become even more precarious,” Dr Treanor highlighted.
He said the document underlined that the growth in employment and wealth which followed the Good Friday Agreement was not matched by a corresponding reduction in established levels of poverty and social exclusion.
He said the document underlined that the growth in employment and wealth which followed the Good Friday Agreement was not matched by a corresponding reduction in established levels of poverty and social exclusion.
“If anything, social inequalities grew. Those long trapped
in the cycle of economic and social exclusion watched others on even
quite modest incomes climb on to what seemed like an express train to
greater wealth through property acquisition, easy credit and easy access
to various forms of ‘spread betting’ on the international markets.”
The Bishop of Down and Connor commented that we now know that “this
train was actually destined to speed off the tracks, leaving in its wake
thousands of new poor. I am referring of course to those people who
now feel trapped by unprecedented levels of debt, who live in fear of
losing even the modest means and assets they had and who, often behind
the appearance of material comfort, mask excruciating levels of stress
and anxiety in the midst of daily financial struggle.”
He said in today’s financial and economic environment “the
traditional stereotypes of poverty and financial distress have been
completely transformed.”
Expressing his concern for Northern Ireland’s new poor, the Bishop
said, “Losing established wealth and becoming poor, perhaps for the
first time in your life is a crushing and traumatic experience, often
compounded by the emotional distress of leaving the stability of a much
loved family home.”
He said the emergence of this group of new poor was a “new and stark dimension of poverty which I suspect organisations like St Vincent de Paul, Christians Against Poverty, the Anti-Poverty Network and the Citizen’s Advice Bureau are having to respond to on a daily basis.”
The EU, he said, through the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council recognised from the outset that effective action against poverty requires active partnership between the public, private and voluntary sectors as a key vector for increasing public ownership of policies and actions promoting social inclusion.
“Growing our social market economy is vital to the integral development of the future economy in which profit and capital are at the service of people,” he said.
Calling for a new spirit of voluntary action to tackle poverty in Northern Ireland, Bishop Treanor said, “Voluntary participation and subsidiary action are the entrepreneurial capital of the social market economy. They are essential in guiding the economy to its human and social ends.”
Paying tribute to the extraordinary levels of individual generosity and social concern in Northern Ireland, the Bishop appealed for “a new mobilisation of voluntary participation to tackle poverty and social exclusion in our society. We need more people to become involved in organisations like SVP, Christians Against Poverty and other voluntary initiatives which provide practical support, including a caring word and a listening ear to those in need around us.”
He said the emergence of this group of new poor was a “new and stark dimension of poverty which I suspect organisations like St Vincent de Paul, Christians Against Poverty, the Anti-Poverty Network and the Citizen’s Advice Bureau are having to respond to on a daily basis.”
The EU, he said, through the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council recognised from the outset that effective action against poverty requires active partnership between the public, private and voluntary sectors as a key vector for increasing public ownership of policies and actions promoting social inclusion.
“Growing our social market economy is vital to the integral development of the future economy in which profit and capital are at the service of people,” he said.
Calling for a new spirit of voluntary action to tackle poverty in Northern Ireland, Bishop Treanor said, “Voluntary participation and subsidiary action are the entrepreneurial capital of the social market economy. They are essential in guiding the economy to its human and social ends.”
Paying tribute to the extraordinary levels of individual generosity and social concern in Northern Ireland, the Bishop appealed for “a new mobilisation of voluntary participation to tackle poverty and social exclusion in our society. We need more people to become involved in organisations like SVP, Christians Against Poverty and other voluntary initiatives which provide practical support, including a caring word and a listening ear to those in need around us.”
Those already working
with these groups, he said were doing vital work.
“Your voice is vital in challenging all of us in the Churches, in politics, in civil and voluntary organisations to demonstrate our commitment to our stated values by working to alleviate the unconscionable levels of poverty which afflict so many children in our society”, Bishop Treanor said.
“Your voice is vital in challenging all of us in the Churches, in politics, in civil and voluntary organisations to demonstrate our commitment to our stated values by working to alleviate the unconscionable levels of poverty which afflict so many children in our society”, Bishop Treanor said.
SIC: CIN/IE