Left behind by the Tiger
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THE tortuous socio-speak in which two major reports today are couched cannot disguise an alarming level of human unhappiness in post-Celtic Tiger Ireland.
"For maximal deprivation, labour market inactivity and illness or disability are powerful predictors," says the Economic and Social Research Institute. Translated, that means that unemployment and an under-achieving health service spell misery for many people.
"The average number of persons per private household has continued to decline and now stands at 2.8, compared with 2.94 four years earlier," says the Central Statistics Office. Translated, that means that the traditional Irish family unit of a husband and wife with children living together is being eroded, however slowly.
Remarkably, the CSO tells us that, in Dublin, less than one in five households now consists of the traditional family unit.
On one level, a large swathe of the population, mainly in rural areas, has been denied a share of Ireland's growing prosperity.
On another, the shape of the traditional Irish family household is being transformed, probably due to high property prices.
Young couples, married or not, are postponing starting a family because they both must work to pay the rent or mortgage.
Young single people, mostly men, continue to live in their parents' home, well into their thirties.
Again, one good job may not be enough to deliver a roof over one's head.
The ESRI identifies farmers as one of the most deprived groups. It is easy to imagine the plight of the lonely bachelor or widower trying to eke out an existence on some once-productive small farm.
Less easy to imagine how to rescue them from their predicament.
The CSO tells of an increasing number of people living alone. This hardly implies an improving quality of life for many people in 21st Century Ireland.
Meanwhile, the European Anti-Poverty Network has called on the incoming Government to prioritise the final elimination of poverty and long-term unemployment.
Although no Government policy can guarantee happiness for all, even if some election promises may have implied the contrary, it should be within our power to come to the assistance of our most vulnerable and deprived.
