| Poverty risk to one-in-five people
ONE-in-five Irish people are at a risk of poverty according
to the latest European Commission figures.
The figures also highlighted that a third of Irish pensioners are at risk
of poverty because pension incomes relative to the rest of the population
in Ireland are among the lowest in Europe.
The warnings are contained in the commission’s Joint Report on Social
Protection and Inclusion 2007 which was published recently and presented
to EU employment and Social affairs Ministers including the Irish Minister
for Social and Family Affairs Séamus Brennan at a meeting in Brussels.
The report gives a generally upbeat assessment of the Republic’s
economic and employment position, noting that it is on target to achieve
EU targets set under the Lisbon Agenda reform programme.
Unemployment remains low at 4.4 per cent while participation rates at
work of 70.8 per cent exceed the EU average of 70.2 per cent.
But the report raises concerns about the high number of Irish people at
risk of poverty which stood at 20 per cent in 2004 compared to an EU average
of 16 per cent. It notes more recent data from 2005 suggests that the
at risk of poverty rates will significantly reduce, however it says it
is still a “matter of concern”.
It says that old people are most at risk of poverty because pensioner
incomes are among the lowest in the EU-25 relative to the overall population.
In 2004 a third of people over 65 were at risk of poverty despite the
fact State pensions have been increasing at a faster rate than prices
and earnings.
It also says that financial costs of healthcare are rather high and the
number of general practitioners working in the Republic are low. GP numbers
at 3.1 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2004 are well below other EU countries
such as Britain which has 80.8 GPs per 100,000 inhabitants.
The report identifies several major challenges for the government to manage.
These include: Ensuring that the investment in services is sustained and
delivered in an integrated manner; adapting services to cope with migration;
ensuring the ongoing adequacy of income support for pensioners; tackling
major barriers to access to healthcare and improving efficiency in the
health system.
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