The gap between Ireland’s rich and poor has widened
dramatically since the economic crash, according to an analysis from
Social Justice Ireland.
The analysis by the
independent think tank and justice advocacy organisation also claimed
the top 20 per cent of earners actually increased their disposable
income over the same period.
The analysis showed
the the gap between rich and poor was wider when cuts in services and
increased charges are included in calculations.
Fr Sean Healy, director of Social Justice
Ireland, said Ireland’s poorest 10 per cent of the population lost 18.4
per cent of real disposable income in the years since 2008.
In contrast,
he said, the richest 10 per cent of the population lost 11.4 per cent.
Brunt of adjustments
According to Fr Healy, the statistics showed low and middle-income Ireland have borne the major brunt of adjustments over the past five years. Budgets introduced under the tutelage of the troika were regressive “taking more as a percentage of income from those who have least”.
“The
real impact was even more regressive because this calculation does not
include the impacts of reductions in services and increased charges
introduced in these years, which impact disproportionately on the most
vulnerable.”
While the top 10 per cent of earners
saw cuts in their disposable income, Fr Healy maintained the richest 20
per cent of the population actually saw their share of the total
disposable income grow significantly in this period.
‘Increased inequality’
Research and policy analyst with Social Justice Ireland Michelle Murphy said the Government did have choices, and could have introduced fairer budgets. “Instead the choices they did make increased inequality in Ireland.
“Ireland
had to reduce its budget deficit in recent years but research produced
by the IMF shows that how Ireland’s Government chose to do this was
always likely to produce greater inequality and higher levels of
unemployment.
“Other options were available to Government but they choose to protect the rich at the expense of the rest of us.”
The
organisation also claimed take-home pay of TDs rose by €848 while
social welfare rates rose by €162 over the past 25 years. In this period
Ministers’ take-home pay rose by more than €1,533.
Social
Justice Ireland argued there is no justification for reducing social
welfare rates. “There is no way a TD, Senator or Government Minister can
justify voting for a cut in welfare rates given these developments over
a quarter of a century. Welfare recipients are among Ireland’s poorest
and most vulnerable.”
The full study can be seen at socialjustice.ie