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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 1 May 1997

Vol. 478 No. 6

Written Answers. - Economic Growth and Social Exclusion.

Batt O'Keeffe

Question:

18 Mr. B. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Finance his views on whether the level of rapid economic growth may be masking the underlying problems of social exclusion, widening inequality and deterioration of social cohesion. [11545/97]

The most effective way of reducing exclusion, poverty and inequality is through the creation of jobs. As the high rate of economic growth — which is set to continue — is delivering record increases in employment, the problems of social exclusion and inequality are not getting worse, neither is social cohesion deteriorating. On the contrary, I have every reason to believe significant improvements are taking place in each of the areas listed by the Deputy. Considerable progress has been made in the past decade in the alleviation of poverty: a recent study shows that the depth of poverty has fallen considerably since the late 1980s; that there were real improvements in income for the poor, and that there was a very large fall in the average level of deprivation.

Despite these improvements, however, this Government is fully aware that economic growth alone will not solve the problems of unemployment, poverty, and weak social networks which, together, comprise social exclusion. The Government is also aware that there is a significant risk of increased social divisions emerging in the future unless effective action is taken to counter social exclusion. It was for this reason that the representatives of those experiencing social exclusion were involved in the process which resulted in Partnership 2000 for Inclusion Employment and Competitiveness. The partnership agreement states that social inclusion will not be pursued in any residual way but rather as an integral part of the partnership. This is reflected in the commitment to spend £525 million on a full year cost basis on social inclusion measures over the period of the partnership. Among these measures are increases in social welfare rates to the minimum rates recommended by the Commission on Social Welfare (CSW), the introduction of Family Income Supplement (FIS) on a net income basis and the adoption of a National Anti-Poverty Strategy (NAPS).

In the 1997 budget, I made substantial progress towards achieving the Partnership 2000 target in relation to the CSW rates and I also provided for FIS to be calculated on income net of PRSI and levies contributions. Last week, the national anti-poverty strategy was launched. This key strategy is designed to ensure that: "the impact of very rapid economic social and demographic changes reduces social inequalities and social polarisation.

It will mean ensuring that the benefits of sound economic management and growth are distributed fairly and, in particular, are used to tackle the underlying causes of poverty and social exclusion". In order to underline the importance of NAPS, all three party leaders were present at the launch in Dublin Castle, and all three committed themselves to ensuring that it would be a success.
The NAPS will be underpinned by a formidable institutional structure which will include a Cabinet sub-committee — of which I will be a member — an Interdepartmental Policy Committee — chaired jointly by the Departments of the Taoiseach and Social Welfare — and an SMI team based in the Department of Social Welfare. In addition, the Combat Poverty Agency will oversee the evaluation of the NAPS process; the National Economic and Social Forum will monitor the social inclusion elements of Partnership 2000, and funding will continue to be provided for national anti-poverty networks to enable them to be involved both in monitoring the progress of the strategy and in an ongoing consultation process.
With all these arrangements in place there will be very little chance of existing problems of social exclusion, inequality and lack of social cohesion being masked, and every chance of continuing to make serious inroads into them consistently, year after year. We can therefore, with a good deal of confidence, look forward to achieving the NAPS targets of having both the numbers of consistently poor and the rates of unemployment — both short-term and long-term — by the year 2007.
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