Budget 2004 has widened the gap between rich and poor to €294 per week since the current Government took office in 1997, the Commission for Justice with the Conference of Religious in Ireland (CORI) has said.
Father Sean Healy, Cori's Justice Commission spokesman, said the approach of the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, to the poor was "unjust, unfair, unacceptable and unsustainable".
"Since coming to power, this Government has widened the rich-poor gap by €294 per week (€15,341 a year). In making these calculations, we have included both pay increases and tax reductions as well as social-welfare increases.
"We have also included the impact of the new savings scheme, which better-off people can access but which is beyond the reach of Ireland's poorest people," Father Healy said.
While welcoming the €10 per week increase in basic welfare payments, which will for instance bring the minimum unemployment assistance rate to €134.80 per week, Father Healy said it was not possible to live life with dignity on this amount of money.
Meanwhile, the Carers Association said that it was very disappointed that the means test for the Carers Allowance remained in place, despite promises to abolish it.
The Simon Communities said it was "extremely disappointing that Minister McCreevy delivered an entire Budget speech without once mentioning the housing and homelessness crisis".
