The Distribution of Income in Ireland (2000) - Combat Poverty Agency

ForewordINTRODUCTIONThe Combat Poverty Agency is a statutory body working towardthe elimination and prevention of poverty in Ireland. Oneof the Agency's key functions is to undertake research into thecauses and consequences of poverty with a view to understandinghow poverty can be overcome. The Agency also has astatutory role to provide policy advice to government and inthis regard research findings are extremely important in helpingus identify policy options and directions.This research report examines the very important issue ofincome distribution. It examines how income is spread acrosshouseholds, looking at the gap between rich and poor and thefactors which can operate either to narrow or widen that gap,and it identifies how Ireland fares on these issues relative toother EU and developed OECD countries.The findings show that while Ireland has become increasinglywealthy in recent years, it still has one of the highest levelsof income inequality in the EU. It is clear that our unprecedentedeconomic growth is not lifting all boats in an equitablemanner, and that better-off households are gaining from theboom to a greater extent that those who are less well off. Thesefindings are of great concern to the Agency.The growing gap between rich and poor during our economicturnaround is damaging to society in a number of ways.Firstly, given the broad acceptance that poverty in developedsocieties is a relative concept, it is still likely that there will be alink between the scale of income inequality and the levels of