The rich are getting richer while more young people are trapped in jobs that don’t pay a living wage.
A shock report says Ireland is now a two nation State of haves and have nots.
The super rich top 1% of earners have increased their share of the national income pot.
At the same time nearly one in four workers (23%) are struggling to live on low rates of pay.
The latest annual TASC (Think Tank for Action on Social Change) report on inequality in Ireland makes for stark reading.
Author Dr Robert Sweeney said: “We cannot escape the glaring fact that Ireland has very high levels and high concentrations of low pay in particular sectors.”
He says that, at the most basic level, our rate of inequality is even worse than Greece.
That’s despite Greeks suffering acute unemployment.
Ireland’s tax and social welfare systems help.
It means that overall, Ireland’s disposable incomes are mid-table in a European league.
What really makes Ireland stand out is the high concentration of low pay in specific sectors including hospitality and retail.
Ireland has the third highest prevalence of low pay in Europe.
In total, 23% of all employees in the wholesale and retail sector and 39% of all employees in the hospitality sector are low-paid workers.
Another worrying finding is the stubbornly high number of households where no-one has a job.
It confirms that Ireland has the highest rate of market inequality in the OECD – that is inequality before tax and transfers.
There are ways to make Ireland more equal, according to Dr Sweeney.
The report says the best way would be to bring down the cost of living rather than simply increasing pay.
Wage increases could cause problems for some vulnerable sectors like hospitality.
Public investment in housing could also bring down the overall cost of living.
And better and broader public services including childcare could help employment among lower income households.
