The Siptu trade union has accused the Government of "commodifying" basic social services.
Every aspect of social provision from healthcare to education was now being treated "as a commodity" by the Government, and social expenditure in Ireland ranked among the lowest in Europe, general president, Mr Jack O'Connor, said.
Addressing 400 delegates in Tralee, Co Kerry, in his key note address to the union's biennial South West Regional Conference this weekend, he said private individuals were given access to "vast personal wealth" through deregulation and privatisation and this was at the expense of the common good, he said.
The same philosophy which saw healthcare readily available only to those who could pay for it, was now gaining ground in education, Mr O'Connor said.
"For example you can access private healthcare if you can afford to pay for it. But what hope is there for an individual living alone with an income of as little as €143 a week, well below the national minimum wage, but over hte income limit to qualify for a medical card?
"We are now on a trajectory that will see the reversal of many, if not all of the gains of the twentieth century within our lifetimes unless the progressive forces within our society can arrest this trend," Mr O'Connor said.