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Policies on Poverty, Exclusion and Inequality●●There should be more attention given to the overall patternof distribution in income, state benefits, services and taxexpenditures, in order to ensure the creation of a more equaland inclusive society and the need to surmount two-tiersystems and the development of ‘solidarity without equality’(Ó Riain, 2000). It remains the case that public support topeople who are socially disadvantaged is more visible than thesignificant level of support which also goes to more advantagedsections of society. Informing people more fully of all that thestate is providing by way of social support can contribute togreater solidarity and public support for raising the loweststandards; andThe NAPS should be aligned fully with the EU NationalAction Plans for Social Inclusion (NAPincl) and should beincluded in the Open Method of Co-ordination developing(OMC) across the EU. As in other areas, there is goodevidence that policies for tackling social exclusion in Irelandwill benefit from the discipline and systematic comparisoninvolved in participating in peer review at the EU level. Itshould be a once-off and not insurmountable challenge tosubsume the timetable and review procedures of NAPS withinthose that have been adopted at the EU level for the NationalAction Plans for Social Inclusion.8.4 RIGHTS8.4.1 The Council’s 1999 Strategy ReportIn its 1999 Strategy Report, the Council identified the importance ofcitizenship rights and obligations. Citizen rights encompass not onlythe core civil and political rights but also social, economic andcultural rights which are embedded in our political culture andwhich underpin equality of opportunity and policies on access toeducation, employment, health, housing and social services (1999:55). Both sets of rights bring obligations with them.The Council pointed out that, while civil and political rights andobligations are now generally uncontested in Western European355