Government publishes Infrastructure Investment Priorities 2010-2016

Government published its Infrastructure Investment Priorities 2010-2016 on July 26, 2010. The 131-page document outlines the financial framework for capital investment in the period 2010-2016. Given economic developments in recent years the expected substantial reduction on the expenditure promised in the National Development Plan 2007-2013 is outlined.

Total expenditure of €39bn is envisaged over the period. Roads will receive €5.97bn with public transport getting €5.77bn and Housing €4.49bn. Expenditure on education is to total €4.21bn and on health it will be €2.89bn; infrastructure investment on environmental serevices will be €3.66bn and on agriculture it will be €1.63bn over the seven-year period.

The budget for social housing is substantially reduced in the programme. This not alone reflects the steep fall in the resources available for infrastructure but also mirrors a fundamental change of approach with the State focused on addressing the housing waiting lists and related issues by leasing houses and apartments, and by expanding the approach used in the rental accommodation scheme.  Government has been making these very fundamental changes in public policy without any significant consultation with the organisations who provide social and co-op housing across the country. Given that about 60,000 households are on waiting lists for accommodation this failure to consult is a worrying development.

The capital investment plans for education have also been dramatically reduced. More than €3bn of the new investment will be used to upgrade primary and secondary schools.  There will be €650m for capital investment in various third level education institutions.  The continuing rise in pupil numbers at first and second level require major investment. There are 519,000 enrolled at present in primary schools. This is set to rise to 570,000 by 2016.  Enrolment in second level schools is at 162,000 at present and is set to rise to 188,000 by 2016.  It is not clear whether or not the increased demands placed on the system by the rise in pupil numbers will be appropriately addressed.

Renewed Programme for Government - Full Text

The full text of the renewed Programme for Government published on October 10, 2009 is available here

An Interim Assessment of Europe's National Social Inclusion Strategies - February 2007

An Interim Assessment of Europe's National Social Inclusion Strategies by the CONCEPT network of Caritas Europa. CORI Justice is the Irish representative. February 2007

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Joint Report on Social Protection and Social Inclusion 2007 sent to the European Council

European Commission Joint Report on Social Protection and Social Inclusion 2007 sent to the European Council, February 23, 2007.

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Joint Report on Social Protection and Social Inclusion 2007

EU Commission country reports accompanying the Joint Report on Social Protection and Social Inclusion 2007 - February 22, 2007.

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EU Commission report on Ireland 2007

EU Commission report on Ireland - accompanying the Joint Report on Social Protection and Social Inclusion 2007 - February 21, 2007.

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National Action Plan Social Inclusion 2007-2016

National Action Plan for Social Inclusion (NAPinclusion) 2007-2016 - Ireland

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Active inclusion of the people furthest from the labour market

Communication from the European Commission concerning a consultation on action at EU level to promote the active inclusion of the people furthest from the labour market - 08/02/06.

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A Future Beyond Poverty

A FUTURE BEYOND POVERTY

- Article by Fr Seán Healy, s.m.a., Director, CORI Justice, published in the Irish Examiner op-ed page - Monday, March 12th, 2007

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Policy Briefing on Poverty 2007

March 12, 2007:

CORI Justice publishes Policy Briefing on POVERTY including critique of Government's National Action Plan for Social Inclusion.

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Review Tax Relief and High Earners

Presentation by CORI Justice at meeting with Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance and the Public Service Concerning the Review of Tax Reliefs and High Earners Download Pdf

CORI JUSTICE OFFICE, Bloomfield Avenue, Dublin 4.

October 19th, 2005

Introduction

For some time CORI Justice Commission has highlighted the inequity which certain tax incentive schemes and tax exemptions schemes produce in the tax system.(1) We believe that reforming these tax breaks is long overdue and is a necessary part of building a fairer taxation system.(2) Below, we outline the background to our views on this issue before setting out a series of proposals to reform the system.

Core Policy Objective CORI Justice Commission believes the core policy objective on taxation policy should be: to collect sufficient taxes to ensure full participation in society for all, through a fair tax system in which those who have more, pay more, while those who have less, pay less

Background

The Irish tax system incorporates a sizeable number of tax expenditures, primarily in the form of tax reliefs. In November 2004 the Revenue Commissioners estimated that the annual cost of tax relief’s was €8.4 billion, a value that is equal to 22 per cent of the total taxation collected each year in Ireland.(3) They also indicated that they were unable to provide complete information on 44 individual tax relief schemes. Of these, the Revenue has no figures for the number of claimants and the size of the claims made under 33 schemes. In the case of a further 11 schemes there is no information available on the number of taxpayers availing of the schemes (2004:63-66).

Table 1 presents information on some of the major tax expenditures, the overall cost of providing them per annum and the average cost per recipient. The cost of these schemes is calculated in the amount of tax revenue foregone (i.e. not collected).

Table 1 : The annual cost of income tax allowances and relief’s.
	No’s availing	Cost in €m’s	Av. Cost €’s
Capital allowances	269,300	1,921	7,133
Exemption of Pension Fund Income	n/a	1,268	n/a
SSIA scheme	1,113,880	540	485
Employers Pension Contributions	n/a	673	n/a
Employees Pension Contributions	670,500	526	784
Resort Relief	n/a	106	n/a
Mortgage Interest Relief	622,500	221	355
Self Employment Pension Contributions	109,600	170	1,551
Medical Insurance Relief	533,800	191	358
Employee Expenses	855,800	73	85
Business Expansion Scheme (BES)	2,015	20	9,925

Source: Calculated from NESC, 2003:341-342, Revenue Commissioners (2004:63-66) and Department of Finance (2004b:10).

Notes: The most recent data on each scheme is used. The figures provided are mainly for the tax year’s 2000/01 and in some cases 2004. All numbers availing are for the 2001 tax year.

As Rapple (2004:79) has pointed out the distribution of these tax expenditures is primarily in the direction of the better off elements of Irish society. To take one example, the National Economic and Social Council (NESC) recently examined which households in the income distribution gained as a result of tax relief on employee’s occupational pensions during 1998 (2003:301). Their findings are presented in table 2 and show that the bottom 20 per cent of households received zero per cent while the top twenty per cent of households receive 56.8 per cent of the relief. Overall the distribution of the tax relief is heavily skewed towards the top forty per cent of households who receive almost 89 per cent of the value of this scheme.

Table 2: The distribution of employees' occupational pension tax relief across households in the income distribution, 1998.
Income Decile		% of total tax relief
Bottom		0
2nd		0
3rd		0.3
4th		1.6
5th		2.7
6th		6.4
7th		13.8
8th		18.3
9th		20.8
Top		36

Source: NESC, 2003:301.

One worthwhile policy approach that can address the inequity highlighted in table 2 is to introduce a cap on the maximum amount of money that any individual can have in their pension fund. An annual contribution limit plus an additional overall pension fund limit of approximately €1.5 million would provide more than adequate provision for any individual in their retirement. Introducing this policy would follow similar schemes adopted elsewhere, such as in the UK.

The suggestion that it is the better-off who principally gain from the provision of tax exemption schemes is underscored by reports published by the Revenue Commissioners entitled Effective Tax Rates for High Earning Individuals (2002 and 2005). These reports provide details of the Revenue’s assessment of the top 400 earners in Ireland and the rates of effective taxation they faced . (4) Table 3 presents their findings and shows that many of Ireland’s highest earning individuals successfully use tax planning, schemes and loopholes to reduce their tax liability. These studies found that property tax reliefs, such as those provided for hotels and car parks, were the most effective in reducing the tax rates of the highest earners. Comparing the figures from 1999/00 and 2001 shows that over time the number of top earners benefiting from very low tax levels has reduced slightly from 18.25 per cent to 14.50 per cent.

Table 3:The Distribution of Effective Tax Rates of the Top 400 Earners, 1999/00 and 2001
Effective Tax Rate	1999/00 % of Total	2001 % of Total
Less than 15%	18.25	14.50
15%-29%	11	14.25
30%-44%	57.75	71.25
45% +	13	0.00
Total	100	100.00

Source: Revenue Commissioners (2002 and 2005).

More recent figures from the Revenue Commissioners indicate that in 2001 41 people earning over €500,000 used various tax relief schemes to reduce their income tax liability to zero. These included 11 individuals who earned more than €1 million in 2001. A further 242 individuals earning more than €100,000 also paid no tax. Put simply, is this fair? Are these individuals paying their way in Irish society or are they exploiting loopholes in the tax system? CORI Justice Commission believes there is something profoundly unfair with a tax system where some millionaires pay no tax while employees on the minimum wage must pay tax.

CORI Justice Commission believes that many of these reliefs serve minimal purpose. We have argued for some time that these reliefs should be reviewed via an assessment of the economic and social benefits that they provide. Only where these benefits surpass the costs should the reliefs be retained. Furthermore we believe that in the future any proposed reliefs should be subject to detailed assessment before they are introduced. It should also be a requirement that the Revenue Commissioners collect data on the size and distribution of these reliefs. Such information is critical to any assessments of the role they play.

Proposals for reform

While it is clear that there are a number of tax expenditures that are worthy of being retained, others clearly require reform. Given the above findings, CORI Justice Commission believes that the following reform proposals should be announced and introduced by the Minister for Finance in Budget 2006:

• New procedures should be adopted in the Department of Finance when proposing the introduction of any new tax expenditure. Principally, these should involve a detailed internal evaluation of the costs and benefits of each new scheme. The lifetime costs of most of these schemes will run into many millions of euro and expenditure on this scale deserves detailed evaluation. In that context we note the recent announcement by the Department of Finance in its new Guidelines for the Appraisal and Management of Capital Expenditure Proposals in the Public Sector that “programmes with an annual value in excess of €50 million and of 5 years or more duration to be subject to prior and mid-term evaluation at the beginning and mid point of each 5 year cycle or as may be agreed with the Department of Finance” (February 2005:9). If such detailed analysis is merited for the expenditure of sums in excess of €50 million then a similar procedure is appropriate for tax expenditure programmes whose lifetime values tend to significantly exceed this figure.
• Each new or renewed tax expenditure should also be poverty proofed to establish the impact that its introduction will have on the income distribution, the level of median income and poverty rates.
• New procedures should be adopted in the Revenue Commissioners such that they are able to collect and provide accurate data on the scale and distribution of all tax expenditures.
• Many of the existing tax expenditures, in particular those giving relief to construction costs, offer levels of relief that seem to have been chosen arbitrarily. For example, in the case of Section 23 relief we are unclear as to how the various relief levels offered were established and justified by the Department of Finance. Furthermore, it remains unclear to us why the same development could not have been achieved as a result of offering a considerably lower level of relief, one that was provided at a lesser cost to the exchequer. In future the percentage level at which reliefs are offered must be clearly justified.
• Discretionary tax expenditures are an inappropriate means of achieving policy objectives. In general these expenditures are neither efficient nor fair. Accordingly we believe that government should move to ensure that relief on all discretionary tax expenditures where available should be at the standard rate only.
• The inequity in the distribution of pension contribution reliefs is of concern. One obvious approach to address this is to introduce a cap on the maximum amount of money that any individual can have in their pension fund. An annual contribution limit plus an additional overall pension fund limit of approximately €1.5 million would provide more that adequate provision for any individual in their retirement. Introducing this policy would follow similar schemes adopted elsewhere, such as in the UK.
• The average benefit from artists' relief equals €28,461 (see table 1 above). In reality the distribution of this relief is such that a number of individuals are gaining large tax-free incomes while others are benefiting at a much smaller level. We believe that a cap on this relief should be set at €20,000 per annum with artists paying tax on all income above this figure.
• In Budget 2006 the Minister for Finance should introduce a new law limiting the number of tax reliefs any one individual may avail of in each tax year. A limit of 5 would seem appropriate.
• In Budget 2006 the Minister for Finance should introduce a new law limiting the value of tax reliefs any one individual may avail of in each tax year. An index linked limit of €250,000 per annum would seem more than generous.

References

CORI Justice Commission (2002), Pre-Budget Briefing 2003, Dublin, CORI.

CORI Justice Commission (2003), Achieving Inclusion – Socio economic review 2003, Dublin, CORI.

CORI Justice Commission (2004a), Priorities for Fairness – Socio economic review 2004, Dublin, CORI.

CORI Justice Commission (2004b), Taxation – Policy Briefing, Dublin, CORI.

CORI Justice Commission (2004c), Budget Choices – Policy Briefing, Dublin, CORI.

Department of Finance (2004a), Budget 2005, Dublin, Stationery Office.

Department of Finance (2004b), Tax Incentives/Expenditures and Broadening of the Tax Base - Tax Strategy Papers, Dublin.

Department of Finance (2005), Guidelines for the Appraisal and Management of Capital Expenditure Proposals in the Public Sector, Dublin, Stationery Office.

Healy S. and B. Reynolds. (2004), “Towards a Fairer Tax System for the 21st Century” in Reynolds B. and S. Healy (eds.) A Fairer Tax System for a Fairer Ireland, Dublin, CORI.

National Economic and Social Council (2003), An Investment in Quality: Services, Inclusion and Enterprise, Dublin, NESC.

Rapple, C. (2004), “Tax Expenditures, Incentives and PRSI” in Reynolds B. and S. Healy (eds.) A Fairer Tax System for a Fairer Ireland, Dublin, CORI.

Revenue Commissioners (2002), Effective Tax Rates for High Earning Individuals, Dublin, Stationery Office.

Revenue Commissioners (2004), Statistical Report 2003, Dublin, Stationery Office.

Revenue Commissioners (2005), Effective Tax Rates for High Earning Individuals, Dublin, Stationery Office.

Notes:

1. See CORI Justice Commission 2002:8, 2003:49; 2004a:58-60; 2004b:4; and 2004c:7.
2. A detailed outline of our views on building a fairer tax system can be found in Healy and Reynolds (2004:151-188)
3. The Revenue Commissioners Statistical Report (2004:8) indicates that the total taxation collected in 2003 equalled €37.7b.
4. The effective taxation rate is calculated as the percentage of an individual’s total pre-tax income that they pay in taxation.

CORI Justice Submission on National Action Plan

Submission to Office of Social Inclusion Consultation on preparation of Ireland’s National Action Plan against Poverty and Social Exclusion 2006-08 Download Pdf

October 2005

Context of this Submission

Despite the advances in employment and economic growth achieved over the last few years, the phenomena of poverty and social exclusion remain large. Their sustained existence remains as one of this country’s major failures.

CORI Justice Commission believes that the new National Action Plan should contain clear objectives and priorities, set specific targets which it is possible to monitor, be integrated in to playing a central role in national decision making and commit Government to providing the necessary resources to make a substantial impact on eliminating poverty and social exclusion. Furthermore, the strategies and measures it adopts should conform to the following five principles: human dignity; non-discrimination; social justice; universal and structural social policy; and human rights.

 

Poverty in Ireland

The most up-to-date data available on poverty in Ireland comes from the 2003 EU-SILC survey, conducted by the CSO. Table 1 presents their key findings showing poverty levels among the Irish population. Using the EU poverty line set at 60 per cent of median income, the findings reveal that in 2003 more than one in every five of those living in Ireland were living in poverty. The table also indicates that there has been a sustained growth in the proportion of the population living below these lines. Data for 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2003 show that the proportion of the population in poverty has risen from 19.8 per cent in 1998 to 22.7 per cent in 2003. These are the only years for which comparable data has been provided.

Table 1:Percentage of population below relative income poverty lines, 1998-2003
	1998	2000	2001	2003
50% median income line	9.9	12	12.9	11.1
60% median income line	19.8	20.9	21.9	22.7
70% median income line	26.9	28.1	29.3	29.4

Source: CSO (2005a:5), using national equivalence scale

As it is sometimes easy to overlook the sheer scale of Ireland’s poverty problem it is useful to translate the poverty percentages into numbers of people. Using the percentages for the 60 per cent poverty line above and population statistics from the CSO (2003:48) we can calculate the numbers of people in Ireland who have been in poverty for the years 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2003. These calculations are presented in table 2 below. The results give a better insight into how large the phenomenon of poverty is.

 

Table 2: The numbers of people below relative income poverty lines in Ireland, 1998-2003
	% of persons in poverty	Population of Ireland	Numbers in poverty
1998	19.8	3,703,000	733,194
2000	20.9	3,789,500	792,005
2001	21.9	3,847,100	842,515
2003	22.7	3,978,800	903,188

Source: Calculated using CSO (2005a: 5), national equivalence scale and CSO (2003:48)

The fact that there are now more than 900,000 people in Ireland living life on a level of income that is this low must be a major concern. As we have shown in our Socio-Economic Review (Pathways to Inclusion p21) these levels of income are not unreasonable and those below them clearly face difficulty in achieving what the NAPS described as “a standard of living that is regarded as acceptable by Irish society generally”.

 

Ireland’s Poor

The results of the EU-SULC survey provided a breakdown of those who are poor. Table 3 presents figures for the risk of poverty facing people when they are classified by their principal economic status. These risk figures represent the proportion of each group that are found to be in receipt of a disposable income that is less than the 60 per cent median income poverty line.

 

Table 3: Risk of poverty among all persons aged 16yrs + by principal economic status, 2003
	Male	Female	Total
At work	9.8	8.4	9.2
Unemployed	48.5	28.7	42.1
Students and school attendees	37.4	24.9	30.3
On home duties	*	37	37
Retired	32.2	*	31
Ill/disabled	51.6	58.1	54
Other	71.9	*	53.1
Total	22	23.4	22.7

Source: CSO (2005a:9), using national equivalence scale
Note: * no recorded figure as sample occurrences were too small for estimation

As such, the group of the Irish population that are at highest risk of poverty are the ill and people with a disability. More than one in every two people who are classified as ill/disabled live in poverty. Apart from those classified as others, the next biggest group at risk of poverty are the unemployed. 42 per cent of this group live in poverty and when broken down by gender the table shows that the risk levels are much greater for unemployed males. More that one in three of those on home duties (primarily women) live with incomes below the poverty line while a similar figure (31 per cent) is recorded among those who are retired. A closer assessment of the risk levels of poverty among the retired reveals that their risk of poverty rate has climbed to its current level from a rate of 8.2 per cent in 1994 (see Whelan et al, 2003:24). Students, whether living in poor families while completing their secondary education or while attending post-secondary education also have a high poverty rate at 30.3 per cent. The lowest poverty risk figure is recorded for those at work (employees, self-employed, farmers) with just under one in every ten of this group living below the poverty line.

 

One obvious conclusion to draw from table 3 is that the highest risk of poverty levels is concentrated among those dependent on the social welfare system. As CORI Justice Commission has pointed out for some time, it is essential that adequate welfare payments are provided for these groups so that their poverty is addressed and reduced.

 

Key Groups:

(i) Poverty and Social Welfare Recipients

CORI Justice Commission has always pointed out the very important role that social welfare plays in addressing poverty. Our continued campaign to increase the rates of social welfare reflects this belief. As part of the EU-SILC results the CSO have provided an interesting insight into the role that social welfare payments play in tackling Ireland’s poverty levels. They have calculated what the levels of poverty are before and after the payment of social welfare benefits. Table 4 presents these results and shows that without the social welfare system Ireland’s poverty rate in 2003 would have been 38.4 per cent. The actual poverty figure of 22.7 per cent reflects the fact that social welfare payments reduced poverty by 15.7 per cent. The small increases in social welfare in 2000 and 2001 are reflected in the smaller effects achieved in those years. As the government commits more money to social welfare payments, as agreed under the NAPS and Sustaining Progress, these figures measuring the role of social welfare in reducing poverty will increase.

 

Table 4: The role of social welfare payments in addressing poverty
	1998	2000	2001	2003
Poverty levels before social welfare	36.8	35.3	35.6	38.4
Poverty levels after social welfare	19.8	20.9	21.9	22.7
The role of social welfare	-17	-14.4	-13.7	-15.7

Source: CSO (2005a:8), using national equivalence scale.

As social welfare payments do not flow to everybody in the population it is interesting to examine the impact they have on alleviating poverty among certain groups such as the elderly. Without any social welfare payments 82.5 per cent of all those aged over 65 years in Ireland would be living in poverty. Benefit entitlements reduce the poverty level among this group to 36.4 per cent. While this poverty rate is still very high, the fact that more than eight out of every ten of the elderly would be in poverty without benefits underscores the importance of these payments to the elderly.

 

Many of the groups in Irish society who have experienced increases in their poverty levels over the last decade have been dependent on social welfare payments. These include pensioners, the unemployed, lone parents and those who are ill or people with a disability. Table 5 presents the results of an analysis of five key welfare recipient groups performed by the ESRI using poverty data for five of the years between 1994 and 2001. These are the years that the Irish economy grew fastest and the core years of the famed ‘Celtic Tiger’ boom. Between 1994 and 2001 all categories experienced large growth in their poverty risk. For example, in 1994 only 5 in every 100 old age pension recipients were in poverty; in 2001 this had increased ten-fold to almost 50 in every 100. The experience of widow’s pension recipients is similar.

 

Table 5:Percentage of persons in receipt of welfare benefits/assistance who are below the 60 per cent median income poverty line, 1994/1997/1998/2000/2001
	1994	1997	1998	2000	2001
Old age pension	5.3	19.2	30.7	42.9	49
Unemployment benefit/assistance	23.9	30.6	44.8	40.5	43.1
Illness/disability	10.4	25.4	38.5	48.4	49.4
Lone Parents allowance	25.8	38.4	36.9	42.7	39.7
Widow’s pension	5.5	38	49.4	42.4	42.1

Source: Whelan et al (2003: 31).

The lesson to be learnt from table 5 centres on the inadequacy of social welfare payments. Throughout the last decade CORI Justice Commission has repeatedly pointed out how these have failed to rise in proportion to earnings elsewhere in society. The primary consequence of this is that recipients have slipped further and further back and as a consequence more and more have fallen into poverty. It is clear that adequate levels of social welfare need to be delivered and we outline our proposals for this below.

 

(ii) Child poverty

One of the most vulnerable groups in any society are children and consequently the issue of child poverty is one that deserves particular attention. In 2003 there were approximately 895,022 children aged between 0 and 15 years living in Ireland. (1) Of these table 6 indicates that one in four were living in poverty. This amounts to 223,756 children. The scale of this statistic is shocking. Given that our children are our future, this finding is not acceptable. Furthermore, the fact that such a large proportion of our children are living in poverty has obvious implications for the education system and the success of these children within it. The new National plan must consider the scale of this problem.

 

Table 6: Percentage of children at risk of poverty, 2003
	Male	Female	Total
Children (under 16 years)	25.5	24.4	25

Source: CSO (2005a:9), using national equivalence scale.

(iii) Older people

According to Census 2002 there are 392,836 people aged over 65 living in Ireland and of these 113,826 live alone. When poverty is analysed across the age groups dramatic differences between the young, middle aged and old are visible. The 2003 figures show that 20.1 per cent of all those aged between 15-64 live in relative income poverty while 36.4 per cent of those aged 65 and over are in this situation.

Over time the risk of being in poverty has increased sharply for the elderly. Table 7 shows how the proportion of older people who are in poverty changed between 1994 and 2003. In 1994 this stood at 5.9 per cent, by 1998 it had risen to 32.9 per cent and in 2001 it peaked at 44.1 per cent. The most recent set of figures for 2003 suggest that this has decreased slightly to a position where over one in three of Ireland’s elderly are living in poverty. While this recent decrease is to be welcomed, it remains a concern that so many of this countries senior citizens are living on so little.

Table 7: Percentage of older people (65yrs+) below the 60 per cent median income poverty line.
	1994	1997	1998	2000	2001	2003
Aged 65 +	5.9	24.2	32.9	38.4	44.1	36.4

(iv) The Ill /Disabled

As table 3 showed the ill and people with disabilities are the group with the highest risk of poverty with 54 per cent of this group living in poverty. Over time the situation of this group has visibly deteriorated with previous poverty studies by the ESRI showing that this group's risk of poverty has increased rapidly over the last decade, climbing from 29.5 per cent in 1994 (Whelan et al, 2003:24). This dramatic increase in the risk of poverty is an issue of concern. It implies that in 1994 approximately three out of every ten persons who are ill or people with a disability were in poverty and that by 2003 this had increased to over five out of every ten. Consequently, although the ill and people with a disability only account for a small proportion of those in poverty, among themselves their experience of poverty is worryingly high. CORI Justice Commission believes there is a clear need to initiate targeted policies to assist this group. These include job creation, retraining (see section on work) and increases in social welfare supports. There is also a very strong case to be made for introducing a non-means tested cost of disability allowance.

(v) The working poor

The growth in jobs over recent years has been dramatic and many have benefited from the rapid rise in the number of jobs available. However, it is important to realise that having a job is not, of itself, a guarantee that one lives in a poverty-free household. As table 3 indicates 9.2 per cent of those in employment are living at risk of poverty. Translating this into numbers of people suggests among the 1.74 million in employment in Ireland in 2003, almost 160,000 were living at risk of poverty. (2) This is a remarkable statistic. Action is urgently required to address this problem.

Poverty and Gender

Consistently, the results of income surveys indicate that among all adults, women in Ireland experience a greater risk of poverty than men. Table 8 presents the picture for 2003.

Across all adults, women are at a higher risk of poverty than men. The difference is particularly pronounced in the age group over 65. In that group, 40.7 per cent of women are at risk of experiencing poverty, compared to 30.6 per cent of men. The greater dependency of elderly women on social welfare payments and pensions, whose growth has lagged behind average income growth, is a central part of the reason behind this trend.

As noted earlier in table 3, the 2003 data record that 37 per cent of those working full time in the home were living in poverty. Since 1994 this figure has almost doubled, from 20.9 per cent (see Whelan et al, 2003:24). The 2003 EU-SILC results also indicate that 44.9 per cent of all single-adult households and 42.3 per cent of single-parent households were in poverty (CSO, 2005a:9). All these classifications are households primarily headed by women and help to further explain the growth and scale of female poverty risk.

Table 8: Risk of poverty by gender and age in 2003
	Males	Females	Total
Age 0-14	25.7	22.2	23.9
Age 15-64	19.6	20.6	20.1
Age 65+	30.6	40.7	36.4
Total	22	23.4	22.7

Source: CSO (2005a:5), using national equivalence scale.

Poverty in Ireland: The European Context

In framing this report, it is important that we recognise Ireland’s experience of poverty in the context of the other 24 EU member states.

Table 9: The risk of poverty in the European Union
Country	Poverty Risk	Country	Poverty Risk
IRELAND	21.3	Austria	13
Slovakia	21	Belgium	13
Greece	20	France	12
Spain	19	Netherlands	12
Portugal	19	Finland	11
Italy	19	Sweden	11
Estonia	18	Luxembourg	10
United Kingdom	18	Hungary	10
Lithuania	17	Slovenia	10
Poland	17	Denmark	10
Latvia	16	Malta	10
Germany	15	Czech Republic	8
Cyprus	15	EU-25 Average	14.6

Sources: CSO, 2005a:5; CSO, 2005b:40, Eurostat, Statistics in Focus 12/2004: 3 and 16/2004: 10
Note: Greece, Italy, Belgium and Denmark data from 2001; Malta data from 2000.

Irish people experience the highest risk of poverty when compared to the other 24 member states of the EU. Table 9 uses data published by the CSO and Eurostat reporting the ‘at risk of poverty’ rates calculated using the 60 per cent of median income poverty line in each country. The risk of poverty which Irish people face is 3.3 per cent higher than that in the UK, 11 per cent higher than in Luxembourg, Hungary, Slovenia, Denmark and Malta. The lowest poverty risk levels are in the Czech Republic (8 per cent) and the second highest are in Slovakia. (3)

The average risk of poverty in the EU-25 is 14.6 per cent. Chart 1 develops the findings in table 9 further and calculates the difference between national poverty risk levels and the EU-25 average. It reflects the fact that Ireland’s poverty problem is large and exceptional by European standards. It also underscores the need for Ireland and the new National Plan to address this issue with greater vigour.

Chart 1: Percentage difference in National Poverty risk from EU-25 average

Source: Calculated from CSO, 2005a:5; CSO, 2005b:40, Eurostat, Statistics in Focus 12/2004: 3 and 16/2004: 10
Notes: EU-25 average poverty risk is 14.6 per cent
See data source notes attached to table 9 above

Key Policy Initiatives for the National Action Plan

In the context of the above, and with regard to the objectives identified in the consultation document, CORI Justice Commission believe that the following are key policy initiatives required in the new National Plan.

1. Achieving an Adequate Level of Social Welfare

In 2002, the NAPS review set the following as key targets:

To achieve a rate of €150 per week in 2002 terms for the lowest rates of social welfare to be met by 2007 and the appropriate equivalence level of basic child income support (i.e. child Benefit and Child Dependent Allowances combined) to be set at 33 per cent - 35 per cent of the minimum adult social welfare payment rate.

CORI Justice Commission welcomed this target. It is a major breakthrough in social, economic and philosophical terms. We also welcomed the reaffirmation of this target in Sustaining Progress. The target of €150 a week is equivalent to 30 per cent of Gross Average Industrial Earnings (GAIE) in 2002. This means that social welfare rates will be benchmarked to increases in average industrial wages from now on. If this commitment is delivered upon it will mean that the gap between the present level of the lowest social welfare payments and 30 per cent of GAIE will be bridged during the next National Plan.

CORI Justice Commission has calculated the projected growth in €150 between 2002 and 2007 when it is indexed to the estimated growth in GAIE. Table 10 presents the expected growth rates and calculates that the lowest social welfare rates for single people should reach €185.80 by 2007.

Table 10:Estimating growth in €150 a week (30% GAIE) for 2002-2007
	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
% Growth of GAIE	-	6	3	4.5	3.6	4.8
30% GAIE	150	159	163.77	171.14	177.3	185.8

Source: GAIE growth rates from CSO Industrial Earnings and Hours Worked
(September 2004:2) and ESRI Medium Term Review (Bergin et al, 2003:49).

Following Budget 2005 the current minimum level of social welfare is €148.80 a week. Consequently, the gap to be bridged in the next two budgets (2006 & 2007) is €37. To fulfil the NAPS commitment the average increase in the minimum level of unemployment assistance across the next two budgets must be €18.50 a year. Table 11 proposes the updated scale of increase for social welfare for 2005 to 2007.

Table 11: Proposed approach to addressing the gap, 2005-2007
	2005	2006	2007
Min. SW. payment in €’s	148.8	165.8	185.8
€ amount increase each year	-	17	2

CORI Justice Commission has strongly urged government to honour its commitment in this area and to provide these increases in the years ahead. The earlier poverty figures underscore the inadequacy of social welfare payments throughout the last few years and make clear the need for increasing social welfare payments to an adequate level.

An important element of the NAPS commitment to increasing social welfare rates is the acknowledgement that the years from 2002-2007 marks a period of ‘catch-up’ for those in receipt of welfare payments. Once the existing gap has been bridged the increases necessary to keep social welfare payments at a level equivalent to 30 per cent of GAIE become much smaller. To make this point, CORI Justice Commission has calculated the increases necessary from Budget 2008 (delivered in December 2007) onwards to 2010 needed to maintain the link with 30 per cent of GAIE. Table 12 shows that the increases over these periods only need to correspond to the growth of GAIE in that year. Using projections from the ESRI these suggest an average increase of approximately €10 a year from 2008.

Table 12: Increases in minimum social welfare payments, 2008-2010
	2007	2008	2009	2010
% Growth of GAIE		5.2	5.6	5.6
30% GAIE updates	185.8	195.4	206.4	217.9
€ amount increase each year	-	9.6	11	11.5

2. Recognising All Work

A major question being raised by the current labour-market situation concerns assumptions underpinning culture and policy making in this area. One such assumption concerns the priority given to paid employment over other forms of work. Most people recognise that a person can work very hard even though he or she does not have a conventional job. Much of the work done in the community and in the voluntary sector fits under this heading. So too does much of the work done in the home.

The need to recognise voluntary work has been acknowledged in the government’s White Paper, Supporting Voluntary Activity and by the Taoiseach who has stated that: “voluntary activity forms the very core of all vibrant and inclusive societies”. A recent report presented to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Sport, Tourism, Community Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs provided one small insight into this issue. It establishing that the cost to the state of replacing the 475,000 volunteers working for charitable organisations would be a minimum of €205m and could cost up to €485m per year.

The report of the National Committee on Volunteering entitled Tipping the Balance (October 2002) stands as a welcome acknowledgement of this role. The report was prepared to mark the UN International Year of the Volunteer 2001 by representatives of numerous voluntary organisations in Ireland, including CORI’s Justice Commission. The report suggested a series of recommendations to assist in the future development and recognition of voluntary activity throughout Ireland. In the light of the commitment to ‘promote social capital’ in the Programme for Government (2002). CORI Justice Commission is hopeful that the recommendations of this report will be implemented by government. In addressing issues of participation in employment, the new National Plan should incorporate these proposals and in doing so recognise the many different form that ‘work’ takes.

3. Addressing Long-term Unemployment and Youth Unemployment

While the employment situation in Ireland has dramatically improved over the last number of years, the issues of long-term unemployment and youth unemployment remain a concern.

Of the 85,600 people unemployed in November 2004, 56,700 were unemployed for less than one year, while 28,900 were long-term unemployed. This figure marked a substantial increase of over 4,000 individuals in long-term unemployment since 2002. However, the 2004 long-term unemployment rate of 1.5 per cent is considerably smaller than the 10.4 per cent recorded in 1988 and marks a major decrease in the level of structural unemployment. It also illustrates the extent to which Irish unemployment levels are now dominated by frictional factors. However, the return of cyclical unemployment in late 2001, and throughout both 2002 and 2003, underscores the necessity to maintain a focus on ensuring that the long-term unemployment problem is not allowed to return.

The new National plan should therefore address this issue. This is particularly important given that the NAPS Review (2002) set down as a key target: “to eliminate long-term unemployment as soon as circumstances permit but in any event not later than 2007”. Consequently it is of concern that the numbers classified as long-term unemployed increased so significantly in the last two years. To date, little progress has been made towards achieving this target.

An examination of the age structure of the unemployed indicates a growing problem of youth unemployment. As table 13 shows, this is particularly of concern among those aged 15-19. During 2004 their unemployment rates have increased from 12.2 per cent to 13.4 per cent. For those aged 20-24 their unemployment rate has remained very high at 7.1 per cent in 2004. In the context of an overall unemployment rate of 4.3 per cent these figures are of concern. Furthermore, the rate of increase in unemployment among this group remains a major issue. Given the projections for further increases in unemployment in the years ahead, the fate of any low-skilled individuals who have become unemployed is a concern. Depending on the extent of the economic slowdown, the potential for these individuals to become long-term unemployed must be monitored.

Table 13: Unemployment rates across the age groups, Sep-Nov 2003 and 2004
Age Group	Sep-Nov 2003	Sep-Nov 2004	Change
15-19	12.2	13.4	1.20%
20-24	7.6	7.1	-0.50%
25-34	4.4	4	-0.40%
35-44	3.5	3.4	-0.10%
45-54	3.4	3.4	-
55-59	2.7	2.8	0.10%
60-64	2.4	1.9	-0.50%
65+	-	0.3	0.30%
Overall	4.5	4.3	-0.20%

Source: CSO, QNHS March 2005:16

Another factor relevant to any assessment of youth unemployment is its association with other societal problems and in particular suicide. The results of an eight-year study of suicides in County Kildare (1995-2002) was recently published in the Journal of Clinical Forensic Medicine by McGovern and Cusack (2004). One of their key findings was that unemployed males under the age of 30 were the most likely group to commit suicide.

4. Increasing the Supply of Social Housing

During the last decade improved levels of economic growth combined with low interest rates resulted in high levels of housing inflation. This in turn resulted in a crisis in housing provision in both the public and the private sectors. In the private sector this crisis is evident from the rapid increase in house prices and from the severe difficulties experienced by first-time buyers seeking affordable houses. In the public sector the demand (waiting lists) for public housing has increased substantially in the past five years at a time when house building in the public sector has been at a very low level.

At the end of 2004 the National Economic and Social Council (NESC) published a major report on housing. In particular, the report makes important suggestions for policy initiatives focused on social housing (see table 14). Overall, NESC concluded that it was particularly concerned about two issues. These are:

• the quality of the neighbourhoods, villages, towns and cities being constructed in Ireland, and
• the provision of social and affordable housing

They also stressed that adequately addressing these two issues will not be easy and that “the magnitude and significance of this challenge needs to be recognised”.

A central conclusion of the NESC housing report is that the supply of social housing will have to rise dramatically if the needs of Irish society are to be addressed in the years ahead. The main recommendation of the Council on the issue of social housing is outlined in table 14 and saw it call on Government to “create an expanded and more flexible stock of social housing - adding in the order of 73,000 permanent social housing units to bring the stock to 200,000 dwellings by 2012 - in a manner that is consistent with other public investment needs and sound public finances” (2004:221).

Table 14: The role of social housing in Ireland in 2012
	2012
Total number of dwellings	1,653,000
Social housing as a % of total	12
Number of social housing units	200,000
Population of Ireland	4,505,000
Social housing units per thousand	44.4

The figure of 200,000 social housing units has been calculated based on the projected increases in the Irish population over that period and in the context of limited responses to existing social housing needs (e.g. homelessness, community based accommodation for people with a disability and elderly persons). The scale of the challenge facing Irish society can be gauged from the fact that at the end of 2004 the total stock of social housing (including units managed by both local authorities and the voluntary and cooperative housing sector) stood at about 127,000.

NESC concluded that to achieve the target of 200,000 units over the eight year period between 2005 and 2012, an annual increase of in excess of 9,000 units is necessary. They also pointed out that an estimated capital investment of €1.4bn a year would be required to achieve a net increase of 73,000 units by 2012. Given the present level of capital expenditure this would mean an additional investment per annum of the scale of €500m to €600m on what is already projected.

CORI Justice Commission believes that reaching the NESC target for social housing in 2012 is essential if Ireland is to achieve the goal of ensuring that everyone in the country has appropriate accommodation. The new National Plan should endorse this NESC target.

5. Adopting a Rights-Based Approach

CORI Justice Commission believes strongly in the importance of developing a rights-based approach to social, economic and cultural issues. The need to develop these rights is becoming ever more urgent for Ireland and the EU.

Social, economic and cultural rights should be acknowledged and recognised just as the civil and political rights have been. Among others, we believe that seven basic rights that are of fundamental concern to people who are socially excluded and/or living in poverty should be acknowledged and recognised. These are the rights to: sufficient income to live life with dignity; meaningful work; appropriate accommodation; relevant education; essential healthcare; cultural respect; and real participation. Until these rights are effectively recognised then Ireland and the EU will continue to have a major credibility problem, as they will be failing to match their commitment to civil and political rights with an equal commitment to social, economic and cultural rights.

To ensure that the recognition of social, economic and cultural rights goes beyond words, however, it is essential to address the question: how can such rights be made justiciable (capable of being vindicated in law)? In particular, how can this be done in a way that respects the political process and does not destroy the balance of power between the judicial and the governmental dimensions of society while also respecting the social, economic and cultural rights of people?

CORI Justice Commission suggests the following as a viable way forward that would respect concerns expressed particularly by politicians while also respecting the need for people's rights to be justiciable. Our proposal has a number of components.

First, these social, economic and cultural rights should be recognised in the Irish Constitution. Following on this recognition there would be a requirement to have legislation ensuring these rights could be vindicated. We suggest the following might achieve this without producing a non-viable situation that would see every individual pursuing, for example, access to appropriate accommodation, all the way up to the Supreme Court.

Second, there would be a legal requirement on each incoming Government to set out concrete targets on each of the range of social, economic and cultural rights recognised in the Constitution. The specific list of rights would already be set out in legislation and should cover the listing outlined above or some similar range of rights.

Finally, the targets set out in such legislation would have to be for specific periods of time e.g. two and four years (these particular time-frames would also be set out in the legislation). Failure to achieve these targets would be justiciable on a class-action or similar basis but not on the basis of every individual bringing their particular case to court.

We believe a mechanism along these lines should be developed and put in place in all EU states. It would mean that social, economic and cultural rights were placed on the same level as civil and political rights. It would also mean that the EU’s over-concentration on the economic dimension would be re-balanced in part at least by a growing recognition of the importance of the social dimension to citizens in all EU member states. (4)

References

Bergin, A., J. Cullen, D. Duffy, J. Fitzgerald, I. Kearney and D. McCoy (2003), Medium-Term Review: 2003-2010, Dublin, ESRI.

Central Statistics Office (2003), Census 2002: Principal Socio-economic Results, Dublin, Stationery Office.

Central Statistics Office (2004), Population and Labour Force Projections 2006-2036, Dublin, Stationery Office.

Central Statistics Office (2005a), EU Survey on Income and Living Conditions, Dublin, Stationery Office.

Central Statistics Office (2005b), Measuring Ireland’s Progress 2004, Dublin, Stationery Office.

Central Statistics Office (various), Industrial Earnings and Hours Worked, Dublin, Stationery Office.

Central Statistics Office (various), Quarterly National Household Survey, Dublin.

CORI Justice Commission (2005). Pathways to Inclusion: policies to ensure economic development, social equity and sustainability. Dublin, CORI Justice Commission.

Department of Finance (2004), Budget 2005, Dublin, Stationery Office.

Department of the Taoiseach (2003) Sustaining Progress - Social Partnership Agreement 2003-2005, Dublin, Stationery Office.

Eurostat (various editions), Statistics in Focus, Luxembourg.

Fianna Fáil and Progressive Democrats (2002), Programme for Government, Dublin.

Healy, S. and B. Reynolds (2003), “Ireland and the Future of Europe – a social perspective” in in Reynolds B. and S. Healy (eds.) Ireland and the Future of Europe: leading the way towards inclusion?, Dublin, CORI.

McGovern, C. and D.A. Cusack (2004) “A Study of Suicides in Kildare, 1995-2002”, Journal of Clinical Forensic Medicine, Vol.11 issue 6 p289-298.

National Anti-Poverty Strategy Review (2002), Building an Inclusive Society Dublin, Stationery Office.

National Committee on Volunteering (2002), Tipping the Balance, Dublin, Stationery Office.

National Economic and Social Council (2004), Housing in Ireland: performance and policy, Dublin, NESC.

Whelan, C.T., R. Layte, B. Maitre, B. Gannon, B. Nolan, W. Watson, J. Williams (2003) Monitoring Poverty Trends in Ireland: Results from the 2001 Living in Ireland Survey. ESRI Dublin, Policy Research Series No. 51, December.

Notes:

1: This figure is calculated from a combination of data from the CSO (2003:48) and results from Census 2002 (2003, volume 2: 27).

2: Figures calculated using the risk of poverty figures in table 3.4 and results from the Quarterly National Household Survey (CSO, December 2004: 20).

3: Data are comparable across all countries and calculated in accordance with the methodology outlined in the Laeken indicators.

4: For a further discussion of this issue see Healy and Reynolds (2003).

Text of Review and Transitional Towards 2016 Agreement is published

The text of the first formal review of the National Social Partnership Agreement, Towards 2016 has now been published.  This review started in February and concluded in September 2008. During that period there were dramatic changes in the economic and fiscal context in which the review was taking place. The Community and Voluntary Pillar of Social Partners (of which CORI Justice is a part) played an active role in this review – with a special focus on Part One of the agreement which constitutes 60 per cent of the agreement and covers allmatters other than pay and conditions.  
The current Social Partnership Agreement, Towards 2016, is a ten year strategic framework for economic and social development. This Review highlighted the progressmade during the first phase of Towards 2016 and the Government and Social Partners have restated their commitment to its shared high-level goals which are to be achieved by 2016.

This review has produced a ‘Transitional Agreement’ on pay and workplace issues which responds to the immediate challenges facing the economy. It has also agreed on the need to reprioritise public expenditure in order to adhere to the keymacroeconomic principles underlying Towards 2016 while recognising the priority of protecting the people who are most vulnerable.

CORI Justice publishes its submission to Commission on Taxation

Motor tax charges and CO2 emissions

March 1, 2007: Submission by CORI Justice to the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government on motor tax charges and CO2 emissions.

Download Pdf

Social Finance Foundation

February 8th, 2007: CORI Justice welcomes the new Social Finance Foundation

As the organisation which originally proposed that social finance be included in national social partnership agreements, CORI Justice welcomes the establishment of the Social Finance Foundation announced by Government.

CORI Justice believes that the development of social finance is very important. Organisations providing social finance, such as Clann Credo, have received substantial support from a wide range of religious congregations since its establishment more than ten years ago. This support will continue and increase.

The provision of social finance has made a valuable contribution to local communities by providing seed capital for small locally-based enterprises.

Proposals for supporting the development of social finance in Ireland were made by CORI Justice in partnership talks in 2002 and were included in the last national agreement Sustaining Progress. Further proposals were made by CORI Justice during last year's negotiations of a new agreement and were included in Towards 2016.

CORI Justice welcomes the Government's commitment that it will work to ensure there is sufficient finance to sustain the long-term viability of this approach as outlined in the social partnership agreement Towards 2016.

CORI Justice also welcomes the fact that there will be a process put in place to monitor the implementation of this social finance initiative to ensure the commitments contained in Towards 2016 are honoured.

CORI Justice is a Social Partner and is one of the organisations that negotiated and signed the last four national agreements: Partnership 2000, the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness, Sustaining Progress and Towards 2016.

Details of the new Social Finance Foundation can be accessed at: http://www.finance.gov.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=4540

Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) and CO2 emissions

February 28, 2007: Submission by CORI Justice to the Department of Finance on Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) and CO2 emissions. Download Pdf

National Development Plan 2007

January 23, 2007: CORI Justice welcomes National Development Plan but calls on Government to provide detailed targets and time frames on social inclusion and social infrastructure proposals

The following is an initial response from CORI Justice to the National Development Plan published Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007. A more detailed analysis aned critique will be produced in due course.

CORI Justice welcomes the National Development Plan 2007-2013. It includes a number of significant and welcome initiatives. In paricular, we welcome the fact that social inclusion forms an integral part of a National Development Plan for the first time. We also welcome the scale of investment in these areas. However, we believe that detailed targets and timeframes on social inclusion and social infrastructures are required if this Plan is to be implemented effectively and 'value for money' is to be guaranteed.

CORI Justice also believes that the monitoring and review mechanisms outlined in the Plan are not adequate if the NDP is to be effectively monitored on an ongoing basis. The NDP has many commitments and a large budget. It neds appropriate and ongoing mechanisms to ensure the desired strategic outcomes are achieved.

It is very important that the National Action Plan on Social Inclusion, (NAPInclusion) due to be published next month, will contain much more detail on the commitments on social inclusion. The new NDP addresses social services and activation issues. It is important that the NAPInclusion follow the commitment in Towards 2016 and address the issue of income adequacy as well as social services and activation issues at each stage of the lifecycle. Specific targets and timeframes are essential to ensure timely implementation, effective monitoring and securing value for money.

The persistence of social problems is no longer acceptable when Ireland has the resources to address these problems. Ireland’s economy is doing very well but a range of social problems persist. We now have a window of opportunity to address these problems effectively. The new NDP is substantial and moves in the right direction.

CORI Justice is a Social Partner and is one of the organisations that negotiated and signed the last four national agreements: Partnership 2000, the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness, Sustaining Progress and Towards 2016.

The full text of the National Development Plan and related material can be accessed at:

http://www.ndp.ie/viewdoc.asp?fn=/documents/homepage.asp

How to banish poverty and exclusion

How to banish poverty and exclusion - and create new wellbeing – Article by Sean Healy, Director of CORI Justice, published: Irish Times op-ed page November 29th, 2006 Download Pdf

Irish Times on the issue of measuring progress

October 16, 2006 - Article in Irish Times on the issue of measuring progress Download Pdf

NESC Strategy 2006: People, Productivity and Purpose

NESC Strategy 2006: People, Productivity and Purpose

Securing Fairness and Wellbeing - Ireland in the Coming Years.

January 30th, 2006: CORI Justice Commission launches Securing Fairness and Wellbeing - Ireland in the Coming Years. This is the Commission's position paper on the upcoming social partnership negotiations Download Pdf

1. Introduction

Ireland is changing dramatically. The country's population is projected to grow to 4.5 million by 2011 and to 5.5 million by 2030 from its current level of just over 4 million. This highlights the scope of the changes that lie ahead and the scale of the challenges these pose for policy-making today. It also highlights the need to avail of the window of opportunity currently available so that these challenges will be effectively addressed for the benefit of all Ireland's people.

A new national agreement should tackle poverty, inequality and social exclusion and move Ireland towards being a society characterised by fairness and well-being. In practical terms this would require commitment to develop initiatives to:

• Address Ireland's infrastructure deficits especially on social housing and public transport;
• Secure appropriate levels of service provision in areas such as healthcare, education, care, and employment services;
• Ensure every man, woman and child has sufficient income to live life with dignity especially through increasing social welfare rates and tackling the 'working poor' issue; and
• Maximise the participation of all of Ireland's people in their own development and in the development of the wider society.

Ireland has seen much progress in recent years. Economic growth and very significant job creation have transformed the country. House building is at record levels. A country characterised by forced emigration has been transformed into a country requiring significant numbers of immigrants to maintain its economic development. The public finances have also been transformed and the Exchequer continues to collect far more in tax than it spends in the current account.

However, problems persist. There are high numbers of people at risk of poverty as one in five live in households with income equivalents less than €200 a week for a single person. There is unacceptable inequality in both the health and education systems. There is insufficient social housing, substantial adult literacy, high rates of early school-leaving, growing social exclusion and problems of racism and discrimination.

Two Key Challenges

The good news is that Ireland has the resources and the capacity to transform this situation and build a society that gives priority to securing the dignity of all people and promotes the common good. As Ireland negotiates its changing reality it faces a number of challenges. Two of these challenges stand out:

• Firstly, there are many people who have benefited little from the economic growth of recent years and who are at risk of poverty and exclusion for a variety of reasons.
• Secondly, there is the challenge of improving people’s sense of wellbeing. Growing incomes have not led directly to increased wellbeing for all those who are better off. In fact the growing competitiveness and individualism in society have made some people unhappy.

A new national agreement should focus on tackling these two key challenges.

A Guiding Vision Required

Ireland needs a vision that can inspire people by emphasising fairness and well-being. The guiding vision in recent decades has been very focused on increasing economic growth and increasing people’s income. As stated earlier there is an assumption that economic growth will, automatically, lead to increased incomes for people generally, which in turn will lead to greater fairness and increased wellbeing for all. This assumption is not valid. Increasing economic growth does not inevitably lead to increased incomes for all people. Some benefit. Others don’t. Poverty persists. While having sufficient income is very important, it does not follow that increasing incomes leads automatically to increased wellbeing for people.

The 2005 Human Development Report (published by the UN Development Programme in September 2005) found Irish people had the second highest per capita income of any country in the world (€30,384). In the overall Human Development Index, (based on economic performance, life expectancy and health and education attainment and adult literacy) Ireland ranked 8th, up ten places since 2002. However, Ireland was shown to be one of the most unequal countries in the world with the third-highest level of poverty among the world’s 18 industrialised countries behind Italy and the USA. The 10 per cent of the population with the highest income have 9.7 times more income than the 10 per cent with lowest income. Of the 30 most developed countries in the world, only the USA, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Portugal were found to be more unequal than Ireland.

Of special significance to the issue of fairness and wellbeing in Ireland, is the UN Human Development Report warning that in very unequal societies, economic growth “may have little impact” on reducing poverty and argued that “far more attention should be paid to creating conditions under which the poor can increase their share of future national income gains”. Social capital is eroded by growing and persistent inequality. The work of Professor Robert Putnam shows a critical relationship between social capital and social equality. The regions and states of the USA which are most trusting and civic-minded are also the most equal. On reflection this is simple common sense. People are more likely to show solidarity with those who are not socially distant from them. But it goes beyond that. Work done by Richard Wilkinson on Robert Putnam’s material concludes that the healthiest societies are not the wealthiest but the most equal.

Policies can shape the culture and the society in which we live. Policies are guided by a vision (not always consciously). Consequently, having a guiding vision of a fair society that promotes wellbeing is very important. Such a society would be structured so as to promote right relationships between people, institutions and the environment so that

• Human rights are respected,
• Human dignity is protected,
• Human development is facilitated and
• The environment is respected and protected.

Working for this vision requires focused action. It also requires that responsibility be assumed to secure the resources required. As Tom Healy (Ireland's foremost authority on social capital) pointed out recently:

"If we want Berlin-type social services, free early childhood education, smaller classes in schools, better quality school buildings, shorter hospital waiting times, better and more integrated services to the old, the very young and the sick, more opportunities for the long-term unemployed, persons with disabilities...then someone has to pay. We either let the market do it mainly or entirely in which case some people simply don’t make it to the finishing line because they don’t even get a head start in an unequal tournament, or, we let the State do it mainly or entirely in which case we can’t afford to be around the bottom of the international tax league. There is, also, a role for civil society – possibly in partnership with the State and the market. However, there are no easy options or quick-fix solutions here. Someone has to pay and responsibility needs to be taken and appropriately shared.”

This is an excellent summary of the challenges facing Government and Social Partners in negotiating a new national agreement. It is a challenge that should be embraced not avoided. In the following pages CORI Justice Commission, a Social Partner in the Community and Voluntary Pillar of Social Partnership outlines its key proposals for inclusion in a new national agreement. We make these proposals, as always, within responsible fiscal parameters. We recognise that any one agreement will not be able to address all the challenges Ireland faces. However we believe the following proposals could be implemented in the years immediately ahead, they would not damage Ireland's competitiveness and they would go a long way towards making Ireland a country characterised by fairness and wellbeing.

MAIN PROPOSALS FOR INCLUSION IN A NEW NATIONAL SOCIAL PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT

Income Adequacy

• Deliver on the NAPS commitment to increase the lowest social welfare rate for a single person to 30% of GAIE by 2007.
• Continue to benchmark the lowest social welfare rate for a single person at 30% of GAIE from 2007 onwards.
• Commit to address the ‘working poor’ issue by continuing to keep the minimum wage out of the tax net.
• Commit to address the ‘working poor’ and other issues by integrating the income tax and social welfare systems.
• Commit to reduce the 'risk of poverty' rate from its present level of 19.4 per cent to the EU average of 14.6 per cent.

Children

• Commit to addressing child poverty through providing a refundable tax credit for children.

Housing

• Adopt the recommendations of the NESC on the provision of social housing and take the necessary steps to ensure that this target is reached within the recommended timeframe.

Caring

• Agree to develop a national strategy on caring and carers focused on developing an infrastructure of care that covers children, people with disabilities, older people and their carers.

Healthcare

• Prioritise primary care.
• Improve efficiency – both technical and allocative.
• Take a population health approach to developing policy on health.

Education

• Address child and adult illiteracy.
• Commit the resources to make it possible for adults to ‘return to education’.
• Increase the provision of open-access information technology.

Rural Development

• Recognise and resource the shift of rural Ireland from an agricultural to a rural development agenda.
• Expand the Rural Transport Initiative and resource it so that its service is available wherever it is required across all of rural Ireland.

Vulnerable Groups

• Take systematic, comprehensive action to address the multiple problems being experienced by Ireland's most vulnerable groups.

Overseas Development Aid

• Re-commit to Ireland allocating 0.7% of GNP to ODA by 2012 and to reaching the interim targets set out by the Department of Foreign Affairs for 2007 and 2010.
• Allocate a significant proportion of Ireland’s ODA funding to addressing the HIV/AIDS crisis.

Taxation

• Commit to building a fairer taxation system.
• Take the necessary steps to integrate the income tax and social welfare systems.
• Resource the investigation of introducing a land rent tax.

Participation

• Establish and resource a forum for dialogue on civil society issues.
• Substantially increase the resources available to the community and voluntary sector to ensure the work this sector does on a wide range of fronts, and the social capital it provides, are secured in the years ahead.

Rights-based Approach

• Develop a rights-based approach to social, economic and cultural issues.

Migration and Human Mobility

• Commit to leading a balanced and informed public debate about the future of migration and take the necessary initiatives to manage the costs and benefits of this migration.
• Secure labour market policies and standards for all people employed in Ireland.
• Rectify the injustices of the current policies being applied to asylum-seekers.

Work

• Commit to ending long-term unemployment and take the necessary actions to achieve this objective.
• Recognise all work.

Infrastructure issues

• Address Ireland's infrastructural deficits particularly those causing social exclusion.

Structural Priorities

• Commit to establishing long-term planning and frame the new national agreement in these terms.
• Commit to a seamless engagement with the Community and Voluntary Pillar of Social Partners on all national plans and strategies e.g. NDP, NSS, NAP/incl, National Women's Strategy, Tipping the Balance, etc.
• Develop a system of ‘satellite’ or ‘shadow’ national accounts.
• Resource the collection of relevant, accurate, up-to-date data to ensure timely evaluation of all aspects of public policy.
• Incorporate an escalator funding mechanism into the national agreement.

2: Negotiating Priorities

2.1 INCOME ADEQUACY

2.1.1 Deliver on the NAPS commitment to increase the lowest social welfare rate for a single person to 30% of GAIE by 2007

In 2002, the National Anti-Poverty Strategy (NAPS) review set the following as key targets:

To achieve a rate of €150 per week in 2002 terms for the lowest rates of social welfare to be met by 2007 and the appropriate equivalence level of basic child income support (i.e. Child Benefit and Child Dependent Allowances combined) to be set at 33 per cent - 35 per cent of the minimum adult social welfare payment rate.

CORI Justice Commission welcomed this target. It was a major breakthrough in social, economic and philosophical terms. We also welcomed the reaffirmation of this target in Sustaining Progress. The target of €150 a week is equivalent to 30 per cent of Gross Average Industrial Earnings (GAIE) in 2002.

Table 1: Estimating growth in €150 a week (30% GAIE) for 2002-2007
	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
% Growth of GAIE	-	6	3	4.5	3.6	4.8
30% GAIE	150	159	163.77	171.14	177.3	185.8

Source: GAIE growth rates from CSO Industrial Earnings and Hours Worked (September 2004:2) and ESRI Medium Term Review (Bergin et al, 2003:49).

CORI Justice Commission has calculated the projected growth in €150 between 2002 and 2007 when it is indexed to the estimated growth in GAIE. Table 1 presents the expected growth rates and calculates that the lowest social welfare rates for single people should reach €185.80 by 2007.

Table 2: Proposed approach to reaching the NAPS Target, 2004-2007
	2004	2005	2006	2007
Min. SW. payment in €’s	134.8	148.8	165.8	185.8
€ amount increase each year	-	14	17	20
Delivered		yes	yes	?

Following Budget 2006 the current minimum level of social welfare is €165.80 a week. To finally reach the NAPS target Budget 2007 needs to deliver an increase of €20 in the minimum level of unemployment assistance. We believe that the new national agreement should once again commit government to honouring this commitment.

2.1.2 Continue to benchmark the lowest social welfare rate for a single person at 30% of GAIE from 2007 onwards.

An important element of the NAPS commitment to increasing social welfare rates is the acknowledgement that the years from 2002-2007 marks a period of ‘catch-up’ for those in receipt of welfare payments. Once the existing gap has been bridged the increases necessary to keep social welfare payments at a level equivalent to 30 per cent of GAIE become much smaller.

To make this point, CORI Justice Commission has calculated the increases necessary during the period of the new national agreement (from Budget 2008 onwards to 2010) needed to maintain the link with 30 per cent of GAIE. Table 3 shows the annual increases over this period needed to correspond to the growth of GAIE in that year. These are shown in Table 3 using projections from the ESRI.

Table 3: Increases in minimum social welfare payments, 2008-2010
	2007	2008	2009	2010
% Growth of GAIE		5.2	5.6	5.6
30% GAIE updates	185.8	195.4	206.4	217.9
€ amount increase each year	-	9.6	11	11.5

Source: GAIE growth rates from ESRI Medium Term Review (Bergin et al, 2003:49).

2.1.3 Commit to address the ‘working poor’ issue by continuing to keep the minimum wage out of the tax net.

The growth in jobs over recent years has been dramatic and many have benefited from the rapid rise in the number of jobs available. However, it is important to realise that having a job is not, of itself, a guarantee that one lives in a poverty-free household. The most recent set of EU-SILC poverty statistics published by the CSO indicates that in 2004 some 7 per cent of those employed were living at risk of poverty. Translating this into numbers of people suggests among the 1.98 million employees in Ireland in 2004, almost 140,000 were living at risk of poverty.

This is a remarkable statistic. The new national agreement must commit to addressing this issue. CORI Justice Commission believes that the agreement should contain two policies aimed at addressing the problem of the 'working poor'. First, the new agreement should commit the government to keeping the minimum wage out of the tax net through the updating of tax credits in each of the Budget covered by the new agreement.

2.1.4 Commit to address the ‘working poor’ and other issues by integrating the income tax and social welfare systems

There are a range of issues that require the income tax and social welfare systems be integrated as a matter of urgency. The most obvious of these concerns the ‘working poor’ - those with the lowest incomes from employment. If a person does not earn enough to use up his or her full tax credit then he or she will not benefit from any tax reductions introduced by government in its annual budget. In effect this means that, under the present system, those with the lowest pay will not benefit at budget time.

The move from tax allowances to tax credits was completed in Budget 2001. This was a very welcome change because it put in place a system that had been advocated for a long time by a range of groups including the CORI Justice Commission. Further changes are required to secure an effective and efficient integration of the income tax and social welfare systems. Mechanisms to secure such an integrated system are not difficult to develop and implement. Such integration would provide Government with the capacity to address the ‘working poor’ issue as well as a range of other problems that present themselves when these two systems are not effectively integrated.

2.1.5 Commit to reduce the 'risk of poverty' rate from its present level of 19.4 per cent to the EU average of 14.6 per cent.

Irish people experience one of the highest 'risk of poverty' rates in the EU. The most recent data published by the CSO and Eurostat report the ‘at risk of poverty’ rates calculated using the 60 per cent of median income poverty line in each country. The risk of poverty in Ireland is 19.4 per cent. The only EU countries with a worse situation are Slovakia and Greece. The risk of poverty which Irish people face is 1 per cent higher than that in the UK and 9 per cent higher than in Luxembourg, Hungary, Slovenia, Denmark and Malta. The EU average is 14.6 per cent. CORI Justice Commission believes Government should adopt the EU average as its next target for poverty reduction and this target should be included in the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion which is currently being prepared.

2.2 CHILDREN

2.2.1 Commit to addressing child poverty through providing a refundable tax credit for children

One of the most vulnerable groups in any society are children and consequently the issue of child poverty is one that deserves particular attention in the next national agreement.

Child poverty is measured as the proportion of all children aged less than 16 years who live in households that have an income below the 60 per cent of median income poverty line. The age category of 0-15 years is chosen to measure child poverty as it corresponds to the international definition of children used by the International Labour Office (ILO). In 2004 there were approximately 903,360 children aged between 0 and 15 years living in Ireland. Of these the CSO EU-SILC poverty data has shown almost 21.2 per cent were living in households at risk of poverty. This amounts to 191,512 children.

The scale of this statistic is shocking. Given that our children are our future, this finding is not acceptable. Furthermore, the fact that such a large proportion of our children are at risk of poverty has obvious implications for the education system and the success of these children within it.

To address this problem, the next national agreement should commit to introducing a refundable tax credit payable for every child in the country.

Introducing a refundable tax credit for all children offers government an effective way of addressing both the child poverty issue and the childcare issue in an integrated, efficient and effective manner. The credit should be available for all children, irrespective of whether or not their parents have a taxable income. For those with a taxable income the credit would be added to their existing tax credits (or could be paid directly to the parents if they so wished), for those who have no taxable income the credit would be refundable and available upon request. Parents would be free to decide how to use this payment. It could be used to assist in paying for childcare or to assist a parent who chooses to remain the fulltime carer of the child.

Introducing a refundable tax credit for children offers a number of advantages including the following: (i) the value of the payment is the same for every child, (ii) it respects the right of parents to choose between external childcare or caring for the child themselves, (iii) the system would be easy to implement. The system would also be easy to administer.

Finally, as part of the process of addressing this issue the new national agreement should also commit government to continue those policy measures introduced in Budget 2006 aimed at increasing the supply of childcare.

2.3 HOUSING
2.3.1 Adopt the recommendations of the NESC on the provision of social housing and take the necessary steps to ensure that this target is reached within the recommended timeframe

During the last decade improved levels of economic growth combined with low interest rates resulted in high levels of housing inflation. This in turn resulted in a crisis in housing provision in both the public and the private sectors. In the private sector this crisis can be seen in the rapid increase in house prices and in the severe difficulties experienced by first-time buyers seeking affordable houses. In the public sector the demand (waiting lists) for social housing has remained very high in spite of some efforts to provide additional units.

At the end of 2004 the National Economic and Social Council (NESC) published a major report on housing entitled Housing in Ireland: Performance and Policy. The main recommendation of the Council on the issue of social housing called on Government to “create an expanded and more flexible stock of social housing - adding in the order of 73,000 permanent social housing units to bring the stock to 200,000 dwellings by 2012 - in a manner that is consistent with other public investment needs and sound public finances”.

The figure of 200,000 social housing units was calculated based on the projected increases in the Irish population over that period and in the context of limited responses to existing social housing needs. NESC concluded that between 2005 and 2012), an annual increase in excess of 9,000 units is necessary. They also pointed out that an estimated capital investment of €1.4bn a year would be required to achieve a net increase of 73,000 units by 2012. Given the present level of capital expenditure this would mean an additional investment per annum of approximately €500m over what is already projected.

The new national agreement should adopt the recommendations of NESC and commit to funding needed to address this issue during the lifetime of the agreement.

2.4 CARING
2.4.1 Agree to develop a national strategy on caring and carers focused on developing an infrastructure of care that covers children, people with disabilities, older people and their carers.

The provision of care in Irish society has become a much-debated topic in recent times. Care demands relate to children, people with disabilities, older people and their carers. An infrastructure of care is required that addresses each of these groups, their needs and the possible best policy options in addressing these needs.

Any policy development in this area must address issues related to the proper balance between the respective roles of family, the State, the private sector and the community and voluntary sector. It must also recognise the importance of developing properly resourced community services. These are essential to enable people to live with dignity and independence in the community. Currently these services are under-funded and under-developed.

Developing an infrastructure of care makes sense on both economic and social grounds. It is not just a cost to the Exchequer. Investment in such an infrastructure would allow these groups, who otherwise would be excluded, to access further education, training and employment, and enable them to live more fulfilled live and make a greater contribution to society.

Detailed development of such an infrastructure may not be possible within the process of negotiating a new national agreement. However, the issue has major implications for Ireland's development and for the issues of fairness and wellbeing to which we continue to draw attention. CORI Justice Commission believes that this issue would best be addressed through the development of a national strategy for caring and carers. Such a strategy could outline the shape of an infrastructure of care that would cover the four groups identified here and identify the initiatives to develop such an infrastructure. Commitment to develop such a strategy should be included in a new national agreement.

2.5 HEALTHCARE
2.5.1 Prioritise primary care

Primary Care has been recognised as one of the cornerstones of the health system. This was given recognition by the publication of a strategy Primary Care – A New Direction (2001). Between 90 and 95 per cent of the population are treated by the primary care system. The model of a primary care team presented in the document must be viewed in its most flexible form so that it can respond to the local needs assessment. The principle underlining this model should be a social model of health. This is in keeping with the World Health Organisation's definition on health. Universal access is needed to ensure that a social model of health as outlined in the document becomes a reality. For the development of Primary Care – A New Direction there is a clear need for the allocation of more resources. This would need an increase in the percentage of the healthcare budget being allocated for primary care.

Budget 2006 marked a major and very welcome move towards achieving this aim. The increased allocation of €16m (which is equivalent to €28.5m in a full year) will result in 300 additional professionals being made available to secure between 75 and 100 primary care teams by the end of 2006. CORI Justice Commission hopes that this marks the beginning of an approach that will see the whole country served by primary care teams. The new national agreement should recognise the value of primary care and move to prioritise and resource this sector of the healthcare system.

2.5.2 Improve efficiency – both technical and allocative.

Government continues to increase the amount of funds allocated to the healthcare system. This development is welcome although as a nation we still lag behind in the proportion of national income allocated to healthcare. As funding has increased there has been added attention to issues of efficiency, with that phrase now regularly being used with regard to assessing expenditure in this area. CORI Justice Commission welcomes this development. However, we feel that Government, the HSE and others who wish to assess efficiency should do so taking account of both elements of the efficiency concept – technical and allocative.

Assessments of technical efficiency (hospital throughput, value for money etc) are becoming commonplace however there are clear deficiencies in the measurement of allocative efficiency. It requires more attention be paid to social dimensions such as the level of service required in a particular area and whether or not it is being provided. The new national agreement should commit to measuring and improving efficiency - both technical and allocative - within the healthcare system.

2.5.3 Take a ‘population health’ approach to developing policy on health.

Population health is an approach to health that aims to improve the health of the entire population and reduce health inequalities among population groups. In order to reach these objectives it looks and acts upon a broad range of factors and conditions that have a strong influence on our health. This requires a shift in our thinking of how health is defined. The contribution of health to social wellbeing and quality of life should be seen as reciprocal and mutually reinforcing. Health is a capacity or resource rather than just a state. This corresponds with the notion of being able to pursue one’s goals, to acquire skills and education and to grow. This broader definition of health recognises the range of social, economic and physical environmental factors that contribute to health. This concept of health has been defined as “the capacity of people to adapt to, respond to or control life’s challenges and changes”.

A population health approach plans programmes and policies and interventions along the entire spectrum of health action. These would include health promotion and prevention, disease prevention, risk management, medical treatment, rehabilitation and palliative care. This approach could be the unifying force for the entire spectrum of a health system’s interventions such as prevention, promotion, protection, diagnosis, treatment and care. Such an approach would be very beneficial in the development of health policy in the years ahead.

2.6 EDUCATION
2.6.1 Address child and adult illiteracy

The importance of investment in education is widely acknowledged. For individuals, the rewards from education are clear. Those with higher qualifications earn, on average, far more over their lifetime than those with lower qualifications. However, for those who do not assign great value to improving education levels in themselves, a recent study published by Statistics Canada shows a clear and significant association between pro-active investment in education in any period and a country's subsequent growth and labour productivity (Coulombe et al, 2004). This study, which looked at adult literacy skills of people in 14 countries who entered the labour force in the period 1960 to 1995 identified a clear and significant association between investments in human capital in each period and a country's subsequent growth and labour productivity. Specifically, a rise of 1 per cent in literacy scores relative to the international average is associated with an eventual 2.5 per cent relative rise in labour productivity and a 1.5 per cent rise in GDP per head.

The issue of literacy has been contentious in recent times. Some years ago an OECD survey found that a quarter of the Ireland's adult population performed at the very lowest level of literacy. More recently, a report prepared for the Department of Education in 2004 on literacy standards in disadvantaged primary schools shows more than 30 per cent of children suffer from severe literacy problems (Eivers et al, 2004). This highlights the need to see Ireland’s literacy problems as an issue being faced by both adults and by children. Consequently, the new national agreement should commit to addressing literacy at both these levels. In particular Government needs to substantially increase the resources being provided to organisations working on this issue, to the implementation of the next phase of the Adult Literacy Plan and the development of paid education leave for everyone in employment who does not have a Junior Certificate or equivalent.

2.6.2 Commit the resources to make it possible for adults to ‘return to education’

Some 3% of young people leave school without any qualification. This figure is unevenly distributed reaching almost one in three young people in some seriously disadvantaged communities. A further 14% of young people do not complete secondary education with meaningful qualifications. Many other are unable, for numerous reasons, to carry on to any type of post leaving certificate education. Given the changing nature of modern societies there is now a clear case for governments to assist as many as possible to return to education at whatever level they need to. As part of the new national agreement, CORI Justice Commission believes that a basic education allowance for full-time and part-time education should be established. This allowance should be available to adults returning to education who have not already benefited from third level education.

2.6.3 Increase the provision of open-access information technology

Increasingly the ability to use information and communications technology (ICT) is becoming a central requirement in modern society. The phenomenon of a technological divide is becoming evident. In particular it is of concern that a number of young people, including early school-leavers, have little or no skill in ICT. Consequently initiatives are necessary to improve information technology provision in schools, as well as to increase its availability in areas such as public libraries and community centres.

CORI Justice Commission welcomed the fact that one of the special initiatives of Sustaining Progress addresses the issue of “including everybody in the information society”. We are very disappointed with the lack of progress on this special initiative. In addressing this issue it is crucial that priority is given to ensuring access is available to those who currently cannot afford the market costs. Ignoring this will ensure that the “digital divide” will widen social exclusion. Government needs to show greater commitment to this area and the new national agreement should commit itself to addressing this area.

2.7 RURAL DEVELOPMENT
2.7.1 Recognise and resource the shift of rural Ireland from an agricultural to a rural development agenda

Rural Ireland continues to change dramatically. 46 per cent of Ireland’s population lived in small villages and in the open countryside in 1996. This figure declined to 40.4 per cent (1,582,921 people) according to the results of census 2002 (CSO, 2003:53). A factor in that reduction is the sustained decline in farm numbers. Agriculture, forestry and fishing now account for only 5.9 per cent of the overall labour force. At present those in farming comprise one-quarter of the rural labour force, and are a minority of the rural population. Furthermore fewer farm children seek a future in farming. Looking to the future the recently published state-funded report Rural Ireland 2025 outlined a baseline scenario for 2025 where the number of full-time commercial farmers will drop significantly to 10,000 with the remainder of farmers (a further 30,000 full time equivalent jobs) working part-time (2005: 10-11).

Consequently, rural Ireland is likely to experience even more change over the next two decades and the new national agreement needs to recognise this change and to further resource the rural development agenda. Doing so will ensure that rural Ireland remains vibrant and that opportunities exist for those people living in these areas.

2.7.2 Expand the Rural Transport Initiative and resource it so that its service is available wherever it is required across all of rural Ireland.

Public transport remains a problematic issue especially in rural Ireland. The development of the Rural Transport Initiative has been most welcome and has brought very positive developments in its wake where it has been initiated. It has contributed significantly to improving the quality of life of those living in rural areas, particularly older people and has been widely welcomed. However, for this programme to be credible it must be comprehensive, adequately resourced and enhance the current provision. The Rural Transport Initiative should be expanded and resourced so as to be available in every part of rural Ireland where it is needed.

2.8 VULNERABLE GROUPS
2.8.1 Take systematic, comprehensive action to address the multiple problems being experienced by Ireland's most vulnerable groups.

The results of the EU-SULC survey provided a breakdown of those who are at risk of poverty. These risk figures represent the proportion of each group that are found to be in receipt of a disposable income that is less than the 60 per cent median income poverty line. As such, the group of the Irish population that are at highest risk of poverty are people who are ill or have a disability. More than one in every two people who are classified as ill/disabled is at risk of poverty. Apart from those classified as 'others', the next biggest group at risk of poverty are unemployed people. 42 per cent of this group are at risk of poverty and when broken down by gender the risk levels are much greater for unemployed males. More that one in three of those on home duties (primarily women) live with incomes below the poverty line while a similar figure (31 per cent) is recorded among those who are retired. A closer assessment of the risk levels of poverty among the retired reveals that their 'risk of poverty' rate has climbed to its current level of 36.4 per cent from a rate of 5.9 per cent in 1994 (see Whelan et al, 2003:24). Students, whether living in poor families while completing their secondary education or while attending post-secondary education also have a high poverty rate at 30.3 per cent.

The risk of poverty is also unacceptably high among children, older people, households headed by lone parents, Travellers, refugees and asylum seekers among others. The spatial distribution of those at risk of poverty is also a major issue to be addressed. CORI Justice Commission believes its proposals on income, work, housing, healthcare, education and other areas if implemented would go a long way towards addressing the vulnerability of these groups in an integrated way and, consequently, they should be incorporated into a new national agreement.

2.9 OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE
2.9.1 Re-commit to Ireland allocating 0.7% of GNP to ODA by 2012 and to reaching the interim targets set out by the Department of Foreign Affairs for 2007 and 2010.

Globally, the scale and extent of underdevelopment and inequality remains large. An indication of the size of this problem is outlined annually in the United Nations Human Development Report. Therefore CORI Justice Commission welcomes the recent announcement by the Taoiseach that Ireland will reach the UN target of 0.7% of GNP on overseas aid by 2012. Although this is two years later than we suggested in our contribution to the consultation process, the detailed nature of that commitment is welcome. In particular we welcome the accompanying funding timetable announced by the Department of Foreign Affairs. It commits Ireland to an allocation of 0.5% of GNP in 2007 (some €779m based on Budget 2006 figures), 0.6% in 2010 and reaching the UN target of 0.7% in 2012. In the new national agreement the government should once again reaffirm itself to this commitment and to adhering to the timetable set out for achieving this aim.

2.9.2 Allocate a significant proportion of Ireland’s ODA funding to addressing the HIV/AIDS crisis.

The UNAIDS report (2004) revealed that there are 39.4 million people worldwide with HIV/AIDS. This figure comprises approximately 37.2 million adults and 2.2 million children. Predominantly, the crisis is concentrated in poorer African and Asian countries. Of the total, 25.4 million (64.5 per cent) of the infected are in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2004 there were 4.9 million new HIV/AIDS infections and 3.1 million deaths. These figures imply that there are almost 8,500 deaths and 13,500 new infections each day, such that almost 6 deaths and 9 new infections occur every minute. In concluding its 2004 report, UNAIDS states that the world cannot continue as it is and pay limited attention to this epidemic. It suggests that “a massive effort is needed to achieve a response on a scale that matches that of the global AIDS epidemic. Without invigorated HIV prevention strategies that deal boldly with the epidemic, and that also address the wider imperatives of social justice and equality, the world is unlikely to gain the upper-hand over AIDS in the long run” (2004:6).

Given the magnitude of this problem and the long run implications it carries for development in Africa (and in the other developing regions where this problem is growing in size) CORI Justice Commission believes that the new national agreement should contain a commitment by the government to allocate a stated proportion of the ODA budget to addressing this problem.

2.10 TAXATION
2.10.1 Commit to building a fairer taxation system.

Ireland needs a fairer tax system. There is something profoundly unfair about a situation where some millionaires pay no tax while those on low incomes must pay tax. Some of the changes introduced in recent years have moved in the right direction. The introduction of tax credits and some of the reforms announced in Budget 2006 are examples of positive changes.

Over the course of the next national agreement the Government has the opportunity and the resources to make Ireland’s tax system much fairer. The most important step that needs to be taken is to address the skewed nature of some parts of the tax system. Tax reliefs, for example, cost an estimated €8.4 billion a year but are skewed dramatically to benefit the better off. Tax reliefs on employee’s occupational pensions, for example, are such that the bottom 20 per cent of households gain zero per cent of the relief while the top 40 per cent of households gain 89 per cent of the value of this scheme. CORI Justice Commission estimates that at least €2 billion would be available to the Exchequer if all tax reliefs were standard rated (made available at 20% rather than at 42% which is the case for many of them at present).

While this would be only one step in the right direction it would produce a much fairer tax system while also making substantial resources available. Other initiatives that Government should take to ensure a fairer tax system include: (i) use available resources to increase tax credits rather than widen tax bands; (ii) take steps to avoid being caught in a ‘race to the bottom’ which could reduce corporation tax to zero because of competition from some EU countries; (iii) address the issue of windfall gains from rezoning; (iv) move towards introducing a carbon tax and a land-rent tax (proceeds could be used to reduce income tax).

Standard rating all tax reliefs would provide resources that could then be used by Government to, among other things including making tax credits refundable. A fairer tax system is required. Making it fairer would provide the resources to make Ireland a fairer place for all.

2.10.2 Take the necessary steps to integrate the income tax and social welfare systems.

This is the same recommendation as 2.1.4 above. We repeat it here to ensure it is addressed within the context of making the tax system fairer.

2.10.3 Resource the investigation of introducing a land rent tax.

The idea of broadening the tax base through the introduction of a land rent tax is one that CORI Justice Commission has been promoting for some time. In recent times there has been growing support for this proposal from organisations including the Chamber of Commerce of Ireland and the National Competitiveness Council.

A land rent tax is based on the annual rental value of land. The annual rental site value is the rental value which a particular piece of land would have if there were no buildings or improvements on it. It is the value of a site, as provided by nature and as affected for better or worse by the activities of the community at large. The tax falls on the annual value of land at the point where it enters into economic activity, before the application of capital and labour to it.

The arguments for a site value tax are to do with fairness and economic efficiency. Most of the reward of rising land values goes to those who own land, while most of the cost of the activities that create rising land values does not. This is because rising land values - for example, in city centres or prime agricultural areas - are largely created by the activities of the community as a whole and by government regulations and subsidies, while the higher value of each particular site is enjoyed by its owner.

This means that it often pays land owners to keep sites unused in order to sell them later when (they hope) land values will have risen. In short, site value taxation would lead to more efficient land use within the structure of social, environmental and economic goals embodied in planning and other legislation.

Given the growing support for this tax reform, the new national agreement should commit to establishing a detailed study of this tax so that the costs and benefits of it can be clearly set out. CORI Justice Commission believes that if this process occurs the merits of this tax will be clear.

2.11 PARTICIPATION
2.11.1 Establish and resource a forum for dialogue on civil society issues.

The changing nature of democracy has raised many questions for policy-makers and others concerned about the issue of participation. Decisions often appear to be made without any real involvement of the many affected by the decisions’ outcomes. Voter apathy is widespread and turnout has been falling at every election. The 2002 turnout, at 63 per cent, was the lowest voter turnout recorded for a general election and considerably below the average turnout achieved by our fellow European countries at 72 per cent (CSO, 2003:36).

An issue that is contributing to disillusionment with the political process concerns the range of civil society issues that are of major concern to large numbers of people. These are issues that many people feel are not being addressed adequately; insofar as a discussion or debate does take place, they feel excluded.

Social partnership is one process aimed at improving the participation of various sectors in Ireland. However, it is in danger of being overloaded. The various social partners in the four pillars of social partnership - employers, trades unions, farmers and the community and voluntary sector - represent large segments of Irish society. However, they do not represent, nor do they claim to represent, all of Irish society. In fact the case is made, with some legitimacy, that none of these social partners represents their own entire sector.

The development of a new forum within which a civil society debate could be conducted on an ongoing basis would be a welcome addition to the political landscape in Ireland. Such a forum could make a major contribution to improving participation by a wide range of groups in Irish society. Establishment of such a forum would ensure that civil society issues were not being loaded onto the already extensive work of social partnership in the socio-economic area. It would also be complementary to the work of the National Economic and Social Council which already has an extensive agenda.

CORI Justice Commission proposes that government authorise and resource an initiative to identify how a civil society debate could be developed and maintained in an ongoing way in Ireland, and to examine how it might connect to the growing debate at European level around civil society issues. There are many issues such a forum could address. One such issue that comes to mind, given recent developments in Ireland, is the issue of citizenship, its rights, responsibilities, possibilities and limitations in the twenty-first century. Another topical issue is the shape of the social model Ireland wishes to develop in the decades ahead. Do we follow a European model or an American one? Or do we want to create an alternative - and, if so, what shape would it have and how could it be delivered? The issues a civil society forum could address are many and varied. Ireland would benefit immensely from having such a forum and the new national agreement move to establishing this forum.

2.11.2 Take effective steps aimed at promoting gender equality.

The issue of gender equality has been on the national agenda for decades and yet there is a very long distance to go before one could claim that it had been achieved. On issues ranging from poverty to violence, from employment earnings to childcare, there remains a long list of issues to be addressed.

Commitment to the completion of the promised National Women’s Strategy is needed. Specific initiatives directed at implementing this strategy will be essential if gender inequality is to be addressed successfully. An effective mechanism to monitor its implementation will be needed. A commitment along these lines should be contained in a new national agreement. Implementation of a range of other initiatives contained in this publication would also contribute towards gender equity.

2.11.3 Substantially increase the resources available to the community and voluntary sector to ensure the work this sector does on a wide range of fronts, and the social capital it provides, are secured in the years ahead.

Closely related to the issue of civil society are the issues of social capital, active citizenship and participation in society at a range of levels. The community and voluntary sector plays a major role in Ireland’s ongoing development in these areas and in service provision generally but its contribution is being taken for granted or ignored. In some cases it is being seriously damaged by Government initiatives that fail to take into account the impact on community and voluntary organisations and their capacity for service delivery and other activities of real value to the local community and/or to society generally. The community and voluntary sector is a key provider of a wide range of social services and is also deeply involved in a range of activities focused on innovation, participation, activation etc. It is a major source of Ireland’s social capital. The sector should be recognised as such by Government and should be supported much more comprehensively than has been the case to date by the Exchequer. One part of that support should be focused on adequately resourcing the ongoing participation of the community and voluntary sector in both the County Development Boards and the Strategic Policy Committees across the country. A further requirement is the need to develop a Local Services Support programme to finance the services being provided to local communities by the community and voluntary sector. These services should not be forced to depend on financing being made available solely through the employment of unemployed people.

2.12 RIGHTS-BASED APPROACH
2.12.1 Develop a rights-based approach to social, economic and cultural issues.

CORI Justice Commission believes strongly in the importance of developing a rights-based approach to social, economic and cultural issues. The need to develop these rights is becoming ever more urgent for Ireland and the EU and the new national agreement should address this issue.

Social, economic and cultural rights should be acknowledged and recognised just as civil and political rights have been. Among others, we believe that seven basic rights that are of fundamental concern to people who are socially excluded and/or living in poverty should be acknowledged and recognised. These are the rights to: sufficient income to live life with dignity; meaningful work; appropriate accommodation; relevant education; essential healthcare; cultural respect; and real participation. Until these rights are effectively recognised then Ireland and the EU will continue to have a major credibility problem, as they will be failing to match their commitment to civil and political rights with an equal commitment to social, economic and cultural rights.

To ensure that the recognition of social, economic and cultural rights goes beyond words, however, it is essential to address the question: how can such rights be made justiciable (capable of being vindicated in law)? In particular, how can this be done in a way that respects the political process and does not destroy the balance of power between the judicial and the governmental dimensions of society while also respecting the social, economic and cultural rights of people?

CORI Justice Commission has suggested a number of ways in which these rights could be made justiciable without going the traditional legal route (Reynolds & Healy, 2003, pp. 81-84). The Commission’s proposals are aimed at respecting the concerns expressed particularly by politicians while also respecting the need for people's rights to be justiciable. The process of negotiating a national agreement is not the appropriate arena for addressing such detail. However, a new national agreement should contain a commitment to address this issue.

2.13 MIGRATION AND HUMAN MOBILITY
2.13.1 Commit to leading a balanced and informed public debate about the future of migration and take the necessary initiatives to manage the costs and benefits of this migration.

There has been a substantial increase in migration into Ireland in recent years. Ireland has moved very quickly from being a country of emigration to being a country of immigration. In the year to April 2004 over 50,000 people moved to Ireland which produced a net immigration of more than 30,000 in that year. In the early years of this process the vast majority of immigrants were returning Irish people. But there has been a strong growth in the proportion of non-nationals among more recent immigrants. Immigration is projected to continue rising at about 30,000 a year for most of the next decade. This will constitute almost half of the expected growth in the labour force in the coming decade.

Clarity is required on the economic and social effects of migration. A coherent understanding of what Ireland is trying to achieve through immigration is also required. Only when these issues have been addressed will it be possible to develop a coherent set of objectives to guide policy in this area. It is essential that this issue be approached in an integrated way to ensure that both economic and social dimensions are addressed comprehensively and effectively. It is crucial that there be a balanced and informed public debate about the future of migration into Ireland and that the necessary initiatives be taken to manage the costs and benefits of this migration. This debate and the ensuing initiatives must be led by Government.

2.13.2 Secure labour market policies and standards for all people employed in Ireland.

As part of the ongoing development of policy on immigration it is crucial that the implications these developments have for labour market policies and the standards of employment enjoyed by workers in Ireland be addressed. Declining standards undermine the building of a society characterised by fairness and wellbeing.

Substantial changes are required on a range of related issues including the management of demand for migrant labour, the mechanisms through which migrants access the Irish labour market and the issue of whether migrant labour is seen as being 'guest workers' or a permanent part of Ireland's future.

2.13.3 Rectify the injustices of the current policies being applied to asylum-seekers.

CORI Justice Commission welcomed the recently published National Action Plan Against Racism: Planning for Diversity (2005). Its implementation will play an important role in forming a cohesive, comprehensive policy to ensure that the new diversity of cultures and ethnic minorities within Ireland is respected as an enrichment of our society. This approach needs to integrate immigration policy with refugee and asylum-seeking policy. It also requires a recognition and acceptance of the importance of equality of respect and esteem in this area.

Ireland has both a moral and legal responsibility towards refugees and asylum-seekers. As a nation whose own people have themselves experienced the pain of emigration in the past, we should be to the forefront in implementing our obligations under the 1951 UN Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. The non-governmental organisations (NGOs), already playing a major role in addressing the many issues that arise in this context, should be resourced to continue and develop their work.

The number of asylum-seekers coming into Ireland each year has fallen substantially. Asylum-seekers, however, are among the most excluded and marginalised people in Ireland and they have been treated in an unjust way by Irish society. The single most important issue in this context is the fact that they are denied access to employment. Consequently we propose that asylum-seekers whose application for asylum is at least six months old (and who currently are not entitled to take up employment) should be allowed to do so. Removing this restriction would have a major impact on reducing their poverty and exclusion. Likewise, the monetary payments to asylum-seekers in 'direct provision' should be increased substantially.

2.14 WORK
2.14.1 Commit to ending long-term unemployment and take the necessary actions to achieve this objective.

One of the major achievements of recent years has been the increase in employment and the reduction in unemployment, especially long-term unemployment. This transformation is remarkable and has marked a major, and very welcome, shift in Irish society. It has also provided new challenges as well as raising new questions. One of these challenges is the continuation of long-term unemployment although at a much reduced rate of about 1.5 per cent. While there has been remarkable growth in the number of jobs available in Ireland this has not resulted in the desired elimination of long-term unemployment which is the NAPS target on this issue. CORI Justice Commission believes this target should be maintained and a number of initiatives should be put in place to ensure its delivery.

An active labour market programme (ALMP) such as Community Employment is an essential part of an effective response. But more is required. In particular a more effective and targeted high-support programme is necessary to assist those who find it difficult to exit long-term unemployment. Additionally a programme that provides 'supported' employment for those who are furthest from the labour market and who would not benefit from places on an ALMP is needed. The Job Initiative programme was such a programme but it is now being wound down and no replacement has been proposed. A replacement programme is urgently required if the persistence of long-term unemployment is to be addressed successfully.

2.14.2 Recognise all work.

A major question being raised by the current labour-market situation concerns assumptions underpinning culture and policy making in this area. One such assumption concerns the priority given to paid employment over other forms of work. Most people recognise that a person can work very hard even though he or she does not have a conventional job. Much of the work done in the community and in the voluntary sector fits under this heading. So too does much of the work done in the home.

The need to recognise voluntary work has been acknowledged in the government’s White Paper, Supporting Voluntary Activity and by the Taoiseach who has stated that: “voluntary activity forms the very core of all vibrant and inclusive societies”. A recent report presented to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Sport, Tourism, Community Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs provided one small insight into this issue. It establishing that the cost to the state of replacing the 475,000 volunteers working for charitable organisations would be a minimum of €205m and could cost up to €485m per year.

The report of the National Committee on Volunteering entitled Tipping the Balance (October 2002) stands as a welcome acknowledgement of this role. The report was prepared to mark the UN International Year of the Volunteer 2001 by representatives of numerous voluntary organisations in Ireland, including CORI’s Justice Commission. The report suggested a series of recommendations to assist in the future development and recognition of voluntary activity throughout Ireland. In the light of the commitment to ‘promote social capital’ in the Programme for Government (2002). CORI Justice Commission is hopeful that the recommendations of this report will be implemented by government. In addressing issues of participation in employment, the new national agreement should incorporate these proposals and in doing so recognise the many different form that ‘work’ takes.

2.15 INFRASTRUCTURAL ISSUES
2.15.1 Address Ireland's infrastructural deficits particularly those causing social exclusion.

Despite the progress of the last decade and a half Ireland is still identified as a country whose infrastructure remains underdeveloped. This has been acknowledged by Government and a major programme of public investment is currently being financed with close to 5 per cent of GNP being used for this purpose annually. Ireland, however, continues to be ranked close to the bottom of the OECD league when it comes to infrastructural provision.

The new National Development Plan (NDP) to cover the period 2007-2013 should contain a commitment to comprehensive infrastructural development to ensure these deficits are addressed in that period. Otherwise the pressures of infrastructure deficits and rising population numbers will produce an intolerable situation in the following decade and place a huge burden on the public exchequer at a time when resources will be needed to address other emerging challenges.

We believe the process over the coming year of developing the next NDP is the correct arena in which to address Ireland's main infrastructure deficits. However, we have highlighted a number of issues in other parts of this publication that can be appropriately addressed in a new national agreement particularly in the areas of social housing and public transport.

2.16 STRUCTURAL PRIORITIES
2.16.1 Commit to establishing long-term planning and frame the new national agreement in these terms.

An essential element of any society is its ability to plan for the future. In that context an important insight into Ireland’s future was provided during late 2004 as part of the Central Statistics Office (CSO) report on expected population trends. Entitled Population and Labour Force Projections, 2006-2036 the report signalled a dramatic demographic transformation due to occur in Ireland over the next three decades. In that document the CSO forecast that Ireland’s population will climb from approximately 4 million people today to 5.1 million people by 2121 and on to 5.8 million people in 2036. In simple terms, this implies that our population will increase by almost 50 per cent or almost 2 million people in just 34 years (2002-2036).

There are major implications for many public policy areas as a result of this increase. Where will all these extra people be housed? How will they travel around? What additional education and health facilities are required to provide for such additional numbers? How can Ireland ensure that we build a fair and inclusive society which can adequately cater for all these extra people?

CORI Justice Commission believes that these figures necessitate the development of long term planning. Rather than cope with the implications of this population growth once it has happened, we believe it is important to begin to plan now for its arrival. To do this successfully, policies need to be framed within a time frame of at least 10 years. These policies also need to look beyond economic growth as the principal priority driving Government, the policy formation process and society generally.

One initial step to achieve this would be to reform the structure of the current model of social partnership. Given the dynamic nature of an open economy such as Ireland, we recognise the need to agree all pay deals over a short period of between 18 months and 3 years. However, other elements of these national agreements could be agreed on the basis of a ten-year vision. Within this on-going ten-year focus, the current system of 3-year agreements should continue. These agreements would allow the Government and social partners to adopt focused long-range strategies as a part of building the Ireland of the future. Linked to this reform, we believe that the Government should establish a new joint Oireachtas committee with specific responsibility to oversee and monitor progress of these long-term plans and national agreements.

2.16.2 Commit to a seamless engagement with the Community and Voluntary Pillar of Social Partners on all national plans and strategies e.g. NDP, NSS, NAP/incl, National Women's Strategy, Tipping the Balance, etc.

Social inclusion is a key objective of the National Development Plan (NDP), the National Spatial Strategy (NSS), the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion (NAP/incl) and the related National Anti-Poverty Strategy (NAPS), the National Disability Strategy, the National Women’s Strategy, Tipping the Balance and a range of other national plans and strategies. There is currently a problem with the fact that Government engagement on each of these issues and the tracking of their outcomes and impact are all done separately. A simplified and streamlined approach is more desirable and offers a huge opportunity to be more strategic in approach, to have more coherence and integration in development and delivery as well as in measuring outcomes.

The Community and Voluntary Pillar of Social Partners plays a key role in developing and delivering the social inclusion components of these national plans and strategies. Consequently CORI Justice Commission believes there is need for a seamless, structured engagement between the Community and Voluntary Pillar of social partners and Government on all national plans and strategies.

2.16.3 Develop a system of ‘satellite’ or ‘shadow’ national accounts.

Conventional economic models of development or progress fail to meet the needs of millions and millions of people on this planet today. This failure is evident even within better-off countries such as Ireland. These conventional economic models also compromise the ability of future generations to meet their needs. As this becomes more evident, there is a growing demand worldwide to find new models that will conserve the planet and its resources and empower people to meet their own needs and the needs of others.

Central to any model of development which has sustainability at its core must be a realisation of the need to move away from money-measured growth, as the principal economic target and measure of success, towards sustainability in terms of real-life social, environmental and economic variables.

Already within mainstream decision-making, this realisation has begun to have some impact. This can be seen, for example, in the growing awareness that environmental taxation should be recognised as a key policy instrument in dealing with environmental concerns. Public concern in the area of genetically modified (GM) food stands as another example. In the context of income and social welfare policy, the increasing recognition of the benefits of a basic income is a further example of the same search for policies that will be sustainable into the future. So too is the growing demand for the recognition of unpaid work being done in society. As can be seen from these examples, however, there is a long way to go before Ireland or the EU can claim to have placed sustainability at the centre of their development models.

A central initiative in this context should be the development of “satellite” or “shadow” national accounts. Our present national accounts miss fundamentals such as environmental sustainability. Their emphasis is on GNP/GDP as scorecards of wealth and progress. These measures, which came into widespread use during World War II, more or less ignore the environment, and completely ignore unpaid work. Only money transactions are tracked. Ironically, while environmental depletion is ignored, the environmental costs of dealing with the effects of economic growth, such as cleaning up pollution or coping with the felling of rain forests, are added to, rather than subtracted from, GNP/GDP. New scorecards are needed.

Already a number of alternative scorecards exist, such as the United Nations’ Human Development Index (HDI), former World Bank economist Herman Daly’s Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW) and Hazel Henderson’s Country Futures Index (CFI). A 2002 study by Wackernagel et al presented the first systematic attempt to calculate how human demands on the environment are matched by its capacity to cope. It found that we currently use 120 per cent of what the earth can provide sustainably each year.

In the environmental context it is crucial that dominant economic models are challenged on (among other things) their assumptions that nature’s capital (clean air, water and environment) are essentially free and inexhaustible; that scarce resources can always be substituted; and that the planet can continue absorbing human and industrial wastes which most economists tend to downplay as externalities. Some governments have picked up on these issues, especially in the environmental area. They have begun to develop “satellite” or “shadow” national accounts, which include items not traditionally measured. Similar accounts should be developed for Ireland and the new national agreement should commit to introducing this system here.

2.16.4 Resource the collection of relevant, accurate, up-to-date data to ensure timely evaluation of all aspects of public policy.

In recent years there has been a quantum leap in the volume and range of data being provided on issues related to public policy. This welcome development is very necessary if policy is to be evidence-based. It should be expanded as there is quite some distance to go before sufficient, up-to-date data are available to ensure that the impacts and outcomes of national plans and strategies and a range of other important policy initiatives can be measured. The availability of accurate, timely and up-to-date information is crucial A new national agreement should contain a commitment to resource the collection of relevant, accurate, up-top-date data.

2.16.5 Incorporate an escalator funding mechanism into the national agreement.

The central economic forecast on which an agreement is based is crucial. However, it may not be very accurate. In recent agreements it has always substantially underestimated the available resources. These, in turn, for the most part have been appropriated by the better off without reference to the national agreement.

An “escalator” should be included in the new national agreement through which provision would be made for substantial variations in outturn from the central economic forecast underpinning any new agreement. For example, an additional one per cent growth in GNP (or whatever measure was agreed) would result in a series of new initiatives (to be agreed within the original negotiation process producing the agreement or through a mechanism specified in that agreement). Likewise, one per cent less growth than anticipated would result in some initiatives being delayed.

Some development along the lines suggested here is essential if we are not to have a repetition of the situation where a disproportionate share of the additional growth which had not been forecast went to the powerful and those already better off.

3. RESOURCES

As the argument is often made that resources are not available to fund proposals such as those outlined above, we use this section of the document to lay out what resources are available to government over the next few years. We have structured the section in two parts. The first reviews the fiscal position of the economy as outlined by the Department of Finance in Budget 2006 and the second outlines other areas for sourcing additional resources if they are needed.

According to the figures published in Budget 2006 the Irish exchequer remains in excellent health. Despite significant capital account investment, of well over €6b per year, the overall exchequer balance is projected to record very small deficits in the years 2006-2008. This investment represents an important part of Ireland’s infrastructural catch-up with the rest of Europe and Eurostat notes that the scale of this investment is such that if it were halved to the EU average Ireland would be recording an overall exchequer surplus (2004:167). However, for the years 2006-2008 the Department of Finance has also indicated that current account surpluses will average at €5.55 billion annually (see table 4 below).

Table: 4 Ireland’s Current Budget Surplus and General Government Balance, pre and post current spending of €1.5b extra, 2006-2008
	2006	2007	2008
Projected current account surplus	€4,397m	€5,372m	€6,879m
Projected GGB as % of GDP	-0.60%	-0.80%	-0.80%
Current Surplus if €1.5b extra spent	€2,897m	€3,872m	€5,379m
Amended GGB as % of GDP	-1.42%	-1.65%	-1.50%

Source: Calculated from Budget 2006 (2005:D5)

These figures also suggest that there remains significant room for further current account spending over the next few years. As the table shows, additional spending of up to €1.5 billion a year is feasible. Its effect would only be to reduce the sizeable current account surpluses and to increase marginally the scale of overall budget deficits. Following such a move, the General Government Balance (GGB) as a percentage of GDP (the key indictor used by the European Central Bank to judge fiscal policy control) would be 1.42 per cent in 2006, 1.65 per cent in 2007 and 1.5 per cent in 2008. These outcomes comfortably comply with the 3 per cent limit set in the Stability and Growth Pact. In spite of this additional spending, the average annual current account surplus in the 2006-2008 period would be €4.05 billion.

Based on these figures, it is clear that the exchequer can afford to spend significantly more money over the next few years. In the context of the proposals outlined above, it is clear that the resources needed to address the socio-economic problems persisting in Ireland today are available. CORI Justice Commission believes that these funds should be used to address them. Major changes could therefore be achieved during the period covered by the next agreement.

It should also be noted that the above figures are based on the GDP/GNP growth projections of the Department of Finance as outlined in Budget 2006. These projections are conservative when compared to those issues for the same period by the ESRI and many of the banking institutions. Consequently, the projected size of the current account surpluses are likely to be understated.

Aside from the significant resources currently available, we have outlined earlier in this document that there is scope for the government to collect additional revenue through the creation of a fairer taxation system. Our estimates suggest that standard rating all discretionary tax expenditures would provide the exchequer with an additional €2 billion of income and simultaneously address a clear inequity in the tax system. Similarly, the better management of tax expenditures/reliefs through sustained monitoring and cost benefit analysis assessments can minimise the presence of tax loopholes and consequently provide substantial additional resources which can be directed towards the social priorities we outline above.

Just as Ireland has had to invest substantial resources into upgrading our infrastructure to a level equivalent to other European countries, so too will we have to invest to achieve the levels of fairness and wellbeing present in those countries. CORI Justice Commission believes that the resources are available to do this and that they should be used during the period of the next national agreement to address these deficits.

4. CONCLUSION

As we stated in the introduction to this publication Ireland is changing dramatically. There are major challenges ahead but the resources and the capacity exist to address these challenges. A new national agreement should tackle poverty, inequality and social exclusion and move Ireland towards being a society characterised by fairness and wellbeing. In practical terms this would require the agreement to contain commitments to address Ireland's infrastructure deficits, secure appropriate levels of service provision, ensure everyman, woman and child has sufficient income to live life with dignity, and maximise the participation of all of Ireland's people in their own development and in the development of the wider society.

There has been much progress in Ireland in recent years. But problems persist. Two major challenges must be addressed i.e. the challenges of building a society characterised (a) by fairness and (b) by wellbeing. To meet these challenges Ireland needs a guiding vision to guide policy development. Central to such a vision should be the structuring of society in such a way as to promote right relationships between people, institutions and the environment so that human rights are respected, human dignity is protected, human development is facilitated and the environment is respected and protected.

In this publication CORI Justice Commission has outlined a series of practical proposals on a range of issues aimed at developing such a society and that could be implemented in the years immediately ahead. As always they have been developed within acceptable fiscal parameters. The Commission trusts that these proposals will be engaged with by Government and by other Social Partners in all four pillars of Social Partnership. We recognise that the social partnership arena is not the appropriate place to engage on many issues. However, the proposals outlined here appear to CORI Justice Commission as being within the ambit of social partnership and consequently, it commends them to the negotiators of a new national agreement as being appropriate in addressing key challenges recognised by all those involved in the process of trying to build a fairer future for everyone in Ireland.

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Rural Development Strategy 2007-2013

January 2006: CORI Justice Commission's submission to Government on Rural Development Strategy 2007-2013.

CORE POLICY OBJECTIVE ON RURAL DEVELOPMENT To secure the existence of substantial numbers of viable communities in all parts of rural Ireland where every person would have meaningful work, adequate income and social services, and where infrastructures needed for sustainable development would be in place

 

Submission to the Department of Community, Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs and the Department of Agriculture & Food on preparation for Ireland’s Rural Development Strategy Plan 2007-2013

January 2006

Rural Ireland continues to change dramatically. The 1996 census recorded that 46 per cent of Ireland’s population lived in small villages and in the open countryside. This figure declined to 40.4 per cent (1,582,921 people) according to the results of census 2002 (CSO, 2003:53). A factor in that reduction is the sustained decline in farm numbers. Agriculture, forestry and fishing now account for only 5.9 per cent (112,500 people) of the overall labour force (QNHS, March 2005:7). At present those in farming comprise one-quarter of the rural labour force, and are a minority of the rural population. Furthermore fewer farm children seek a future in farming.

Among its many characteristics rural Ireland has high dependency levels, increasing out-migration, above average poverty rates and many small farmers living on very low incomes. Only a minority of farmers are at present generating an adequate income from farming and, even on these farms, incomes lag considerably behind the national average. The National Farm Survey (Teagasc, 2004) estimates that the average family farm income (FFI) (excluding off-farm income) was €15,504 in 2003.

The survey noted great variations in income depending on the size of the farm and the type of farming pursued. Farmers involved in cattle rearing had an average income of €7,337 while those in dairying had an average from farm income of €30,138. Farmers in tillage and sheep farming had average incomes of €26,282 and €12,900 respectively. An examination of the distribution of farm income reveals that 9 per cent of farmers had an income exceeding €40,000 while 39 per cent of farmers had a ‘from farm’ income of less than €6,500.

Off-farm income is extremely important among farm families, especially in the western region. The National Farm Survey indicates that on 48 per cent of farms the farmer and/or spouse had an off-farm job and that overall on over 60 per cent of farms the farmer and/or spouse had some source of off farm income be it from employment, pension or social assistance. The results of the Household Budget Survey (CSO, 2002:89) further indicate that only 43.8 per cent of farm-household income came from farming. This situation is likely to intensify in the coming years, thus increasing the importance of additional off-farm income being available if rural poverty and social exclusion are to be addressed.

The 2003 EU-SILC results show that poverty is more likely to occur in rural areas than urban areas. The risk of poverty in rural Ireland was 4.3 per cent higher than in urban Ireland with at risk rates of 25.7 per cent and 21.4 per cent respectively. Poverty levels were also greater in the BMW (Border, Midland and Western) region than in the Southern and Eastern region with at risk rates of 26.9 per cent and 21.2 per cent respectively (CSO, 2005a:9).

Another study into the distribution of poverty across Ireland published by the ESRI (2005). Entitled The Spatial Distribution of Poverty in Ireland (Watson et al, 2005) the study used data from 2000 to assess what differences there were between countries. Overall it concluded that the scale of differences based on geographic location was rather modest and that the key drivers of poverty were socio-economic factors rather than location factors. In particular the study suggested that the structural issues driving poverty were unemployment, non-participation in the labour market due to illness/disability or old age, lone parenthood, low levels of education and social class background. However, while the differences were small the study did point out that the highest levels of poverty are found in Donegal, Leitrim, Longford and Mayo with the lowest in counties around Dublin.

There have been increases in the numbers employed in rural Ireland over recent years, but in many cases these increases have lagged behind the pace of national increases. The Census Atlas of Agriculture, entitled Irish Agriculture in Transition, confirms the “striking contrast between the west and north-west and the south and east in the use of land resource”. It states that “the boundary has been shifting southwards and the divergence between these two parts of the state has increased”. It indicates that by 2007 there will be a core of commercial farms operating competitively in a market environment dominated by world farm-commodity prices, located mainly in the southwest. Smaller-scale producers on the fringes of these areas will be increasingly vulnerable to economic forces. A second tier of farmers will depend heavily on direct payments, legitimised on the basis that landholders provide "public goods" especially by managing the environment or because their farms are in disadvantaged areas.

This kind of a shift in the patterns of Irish agriculture has, and will continue to have, real consequences for rural society generally. Long-term strategies to address the failures of current policies on critical issues such as infrastructure development, the national spatial imbalance, public transport and local involvement in core decision-making are urgently required. Recognition that current development policies are largely city-led is also necessary and this approach needs to be re-balanced.

The 1999 White Paper on rural development was welcome in that it provided an outline of a vision to guide rural-development policy as we have advocated for over a decade. In so doing, it accepted that the statement of a vision is a necessary first step in moving forward. CORI Justice Commission also welcomed the identification by the White Paper of much that is already being done under a variety of headings in all areas of rural development. However, there was little in terms of new and imaginative policies proposed for the implementation of the vision, and no commitment of new and measurable resources to attain the objectives set out.

There have been many welcome initiatives aimed at rural development. For example, Budget 2004 made provision for a new Rural Social Scheme (RSS) “to help improve rural services in a more efficient way and at the same time to provide an income for small farmers with a working week compatible with farming” (Department of Finance Budget 2004: A16). It is estimated that there would be 2,500 places on this scheme which was funded initially by the Farm Assist Programme and the Dormant Accounts fund. Places on the scheme, which is run by the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, are on an annual basis. The decision to further increase funding to this scheme in Budget 2005 was also welcome.

As this scheme is implemented it is important that the conditions listed above would be eased to ensure that people that are socially excluded in rural situations would not be barred from participating in the scheme.

The context of current rural development policy, however, is one where

• EU policies in particular ensure that production is concentrated among larger producers, and where regulations, policies and financing all militate against small local producers,
• direct payments favour large volume, higher income farmers,
• there is a dominance of the agri-model of rural development,
• there is very limited progress in achieving balanced regional development. Areas such as the western region have been losing ground to the rest of the country in recent years.

It is clear that the scale of the infrastructure and investment deficit in rural Ireland is unacceptably high. In recent years there have been major spatial changes and there are major spatial disparities as well. The failure of current policies in so many crucial areas requires that long-term strategies be developed to address these failures.

The CLAR programme is going a little way towards addressing these problems. Far more is required if rural Ireland is to be viable in the twenty-first century. A spatial strategy is an essential component of effective planning and development at national, regional and local levels. The 2002 National Spatial Strategy is a step in the right direction. However, Ireland has a long way to go before it could be said that it is meeting the requirement of balanced regional development at these different levels.

Policy Proposals on Rural Development

• Transform the decoupled direct payment into a basic income for each person.
• Reappraise the concept of work. In doing this, the potential of the social economy should be incorporated, the range of activities of the Farm Relief Service broadened, and the facilitation of family-farm inheritance should be ensured.
• Ensure the provision of basic infrastructure and services, based more on principles of equity and social justice, than on cost effectiveness, and take particular account of rural disadvantage
• Ensure the provision of a reliable and appropriate transport system, by providing resources for the development of local-transport strategies and initiatives tailored to meet the needs of the local community.
• Reverse the trend of centralising services away from local communities in areas such as healthcare, education, post offices, etc.
• Structure housing lists to reflect rural needs. In particular, in rural areas, develop a framework to guide planning policy, which is focused on supporting and sustaining viable rural communities and protecting and enhancing the rural environment.
• Ensure that public-service bodies take steps to inaugurate an effective and ongoing consultative process with all rural people.
• Overhaul the model for development in agriculture to take effective account of the difficulties of smaller farmers.
• Reappraise programmes to create employment for part-time farmers with a view to targeting effectively the needs of smaller farmers.
• Develop policies, which encourage alternative farm enterprises through the promotion of quality (including organic) food production and processing.
• Support additional special outreach education programmes in rural areas, particularly those where no major third-level colleges are located.
• Promote research on initiatives that will develop information systems and technologies in a manner that will enhance, rather than detract from, the viability of rural communities