A "culture of contentment" in Ireland has led to an increase in the gap between rich and poor since the emergence of the Celtic Tiger, according to CORI.
The annual socio-economic review of the Justice Commission of the Conference of Religious in Ireland shows that the increases in income of the richest members of society grew nine times faster than those of the poorest since 1990. Single people who are long-term unemployed are £18.50 a week better off today than they were in 1990, while single people earning £40,000 a year are £164 a week better off.
"This is not an accidental development", comments CORI. "It is the result of decisions made to allocate resources in particular ways. It also results from the failure of successive governments to come to grips with the fact that the present tax and social welfare structures are part of the problem - they tend to produce these widening gaps."
Citing the work of US economist J. Kenneth Galbraith, who outlined how modern democracies are now committed to the interests of the comfortably-off majority rather than to those of all citizens, CORI points out that this can have very serious implications.
"Grossly unequal societies are inherently unstable, no matter how theoretically free or full of opportunity they might appear to be", it says.
"For the first time in Irish history, poverty can be eliminated with relative ease", it continues. "Yet the major focus of public debate does not seem to recognise the persistence of extensive poverty. If poverty is not eliminated in this period of abundant resources, it will never be eliminated."
The report points out that economic indicators alone do not paint a fully accurate picture of the health of society. Unpaid work, like work in the home or voluntary work, is not included in measurements of wealth-creation. Environmental factors, such as the depletion of natural resources, are registered as income and not as cost; pollution is not registered as a cost, but cleaning up after it is seen as income. Increased spending on prisons and security are also registered as income.
The main groups excluded from Ireland's growing prosperity are in households headed by someone who is unemployed, disabled or working exclusively in the home. These groups are excluded from decision-making even when the decisions concern their income or right to work.
"They are seen as a commodity by many, are viewed as surplus to the requirements of society and dismissed accordingly. Society is now structured in such a way that people in these groups have no future prospects", according to the report.
"When you are one of the excluded, politicians and policy-makers can ignore you without fear of censure or loss of position . . . Since society fears excluded groups, you are always suspect and live under a cloud of being guilty until you prove your innocence."
CORI points out that it was involved, as part of the community and voluntary sector, in the negotiations which produced the Partnership 2000 agreement. This acknowledged that social exclusion was "one of the major challenges currently facing Irish society".
Chapters dealing specifically with social inclusion and equality formed part of that agreement. "However, many of the commitments in these areas contained in Partnership 2000 remain to be honoured", it says.
These include implementing the minimum social welfare rates recommended by the Commission on Social Welfare; extending the local employment service nationwide; increasing the jobs initiative and the part-time jobs option by a further 8,000; abolishing Leaving and Junior Certificate fees; increasing the number of teachers for travellers and those with disabilities; and increasing support for anti-poverty networks.
"The 1999 Budget is the last in the Partnership 2000 period. Consequently, all the outstanding commitments on social inclusion and equality contained in Partnership 2000 should be included in Budget 1999. Otherwise, the Partnership 2000 agreement will have been breached and the community and voluntary sector organisations who negotiated the agreement will have been betrayed."
CORI also puts forward a programme for permanently redressing social inequality. These include its proposal for a basic income for every man, woman and child, as a substitute for both social welfare payments and tax-free allowances, which would not be means-tested.