Social justice and economic efficiency are intrinsically inter-linked, Britain's Secretary of State for Social Security said yesterday.
Mr Alistair Darling was in Dublin to address the Institute of European Affairs, to meet the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, Mr Ahern.
"You can't have an efficient, an effective, a vibrant economy if at the same time you've got a socially fractured society," he told The Irish Times.
The British government is implementing a programme in which welfare recipients will have to meet officials who will try to link them to jobs. Those who do not co-operate will have their benefits reduced.
Mr Darling said he regarded the welfare state as an integral part of a successful economy.
"It will make sure that people are educated and skilled. If they are sick, it will make sure it treats them. If they are out of work, it will ensure they get back into work as soon as they possibly can.
"If there are poor children, it will make sure we tackle the causes of that poverty, because if you do that, the better the chance the child will have the motivation, the skills, the ambition to contribute to society when the child grows up."
Social exclusion was not confined to deprived areas. While there were estates where the "dominant characteristic" was one of social exclusion, "you can have an excluded person in the middle of a very affluent area".
In areas where poverty was concentrated, "it is far more likely that many more people will be dragged into this downward spiral because all around them the peer group pressure, if you like, is to downgrade expectations rather than to raise expectations."