A homeless charity has called for next month's budget to deliver substantial welfare increases and 10,000 new social houses next year.
Focus Ireland called on the Minister for Finance, Mr Cowen, to close tax loopholes to increase social spending.
The charity criticised the Government for "letting the wealthy off the tax hook while it squeezed the poor" with social welfare cuts.
"It is grossly unfair that Government policies have allowed some of the most wealthy to pay little or no tax while €60 million was cut from social welfare spending in the last budget alone," said the charity's chief executive, Mr Declan Jones.
The charity referred to the recent Vincentian Partnership study - which it said showed that a dignified standard of living is out of reach for people on social welfare in Ireland . It also pointed to a End Child Poverty Coalitionstudy that 66,000 children were living in consistent poverty in Ireland.
Mr Jones said that despite the UN showing Ireland had entered the top ten of the world's "quality of life" league for the first time, Ireland still had the second-highest level of poverty in the western world and inequality levels were now higher than in any other western country, apart from the United States.
Focus wants at least 10,000 social housing units to be built in 2005, which it estimates would cost €1.8 billion over two years.
It also wants Mr Cowen to sanction minimum social welfare increases of €15 euro per week. Mr Jones said the Government must act now to reverse the damage the cuts have caused if they are serious about building a more equal society for the poor.