IT IS time for a reality check. The budget is less than a month away. And a plethora of competing submissions have been sent to the Minister for Finance by dominant vested interests. Lip-service has been paid to a correction of the public finances. But self-serving demands make a mockery of that notion. Before these powerful voices drown out all others, the Government should declare its commitment to a fair and equitable society.
The recession is having a corrosive effect on Irish life, with unemployment and poverty on the rise and demands for charitable assistance increasing. The St Vincent de Paul Society (SVP) has urged the Government to ensure the most vulnerable of our people are protected and that there should be no cut in social welfare or pension payments. It points out that we come third, in terms of poverty, out of 25 developed countries and that those in need are facing an extraordinarily difficult and challenging time.
Cuts have already been made to some services and welfare payments. And the SVP reports that these have had a significant human cost for families and individuals. Last year, it provided €22 million in food, energy, education and financial support. Already this year, calls for assistance have risen by almost one-third in some areas. And the situation is getting worse. The charity acknowledges the need for economic stability and for greater efficiencies in public services. And it suggests a deepening and broadening of the tax base and the ending of expensive tax reliefs.
This can become a win-win situation for all concerned. A recent report from the National Economic and Social Council – a Government-sponsored body that contains representatives of the social partners – has argued that economic and social progress should be complementary. People do better in more equal societies where basic needs are met and they are given a sense of purpose. In other words, social wellbeing should be regarded as a central element in economic recovery. The alternative offers a return to the depression and social exclusion of the 1980s, with growing discord and rising crime levels.
The Government has to provide the necessary leadership. But wealthy people and those in secure employment should consider the kind of society they want for themselves and for their children, along with the measures they will accept to make it happen. By all accounts, there will be plenty of pain. But sharing that pain equitably and in the interests of the common good would form a creative framework for future development.