Poverty And Social Exclusion Analysis

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Irish society throughout history has a long and diverse relationship with poverty and social exclusion. In current times a “new” poverty has stemmed from the period of austerity. According to the CSO (2011), one quarter of the population is living in deprivation. Poverty and social exclusion have been demanding solutions since the Free State was established in 1922. With full fiscal autonomy from the UK came freedom but also the responsibility for tackling issues such as poverty and social exclusion. The causes and issues of poverty and social exclusion have grown and changed along with the policies and approaches to these issues. Well-being and quality of life are now acknowledged as important indicators of a successful economy. Irish government …show more content…

Poverty is no longer seen as a result of individual shortcomings but rather structural failings. It can be seen as a result of combinations and consequences of the following factors. Firstly, the deficient structure of the tax and welfare system which is demonstrated by the large income disparity after the economic boom. Rather than lift individuals out of poverty income redistribution has created a “poverty trap”. For some welfare recipients it is more financially valuable to disengage rather than engage with the labour market. This limits individuals in removing themselves from consistent poverty. Groups “at-risk” of poverty are more likely to be in low paid employment which has been shown to be linked to low educational attainment. Lack of educational attainment can be seen as a result of structural failings. These failings determine access to resources such as education and health (Cousins, M, 2007). Furthermore there is an intergenerational transmission of poverty of which specific groups are more at risk such as Lone- Parents and Travellers. Whelan et.al (2011) found that “in every case vulnerability levels are higher for those whose families experienced severe financial problems in their childhood.” This demonstrates a pattern which leads to poverty. As stated by CPA (2009) ‘Typically the groups most at risk share certain characteristics such as where they live, their age, the composition of their households and whether or not they have a job’ . Lastly, failure of the economy to provide jobs and adequate wages offers limited routes from poverty. Poverty and social exclusion is impacted by several factors that are linked and combined. We have established some of the causes of poverty the next section will identify the policies used to tackle these

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