A UN development expert has expressed doubt over figures which show Ireland has one of the highest poverty rates in the EU, writes Carl O'Brien, Social Affairs Correspondent
Latest figures used by the EU and the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show some 21 per cent of the population were deemed to be at risk of poverty in 2004 compared to an EU average of 16 per cent.
However, an article in Development and Transition, published by the UN Development Programme and the London School of Economics, says the concept on which the figures are based - relative poverty - is flawed and distorts the extent of poverty in Ireland.
It says the measure has not accurately recorded a general rise in the standard of living or recognised that thousands of people have been lifted out of poverty.
The argument is similar to one made by Minister for Social Affairs Séamus Brennan, who has said that consistent poverty is a more accurate measure of deprivation.
Consistent poverty rates - based on people who experience deprivation in relation to a number of defined items, such as lack of winter coat or a second pair or shoes - were about 6.8 per cent in 2004.
However, the EU and many anti-poverty groups such as Combat Poverty favour the use of relative poverty. This looks at how many people in a country have disposable income smaller than 60 per cent of that country's median. For example, if 21 people out of 100 in Ireland have an income smaller than 60 per cent of the country's median - or middle point - the risk of poverty rate is 21 per cent.
The article, co-authored by the assistant administrator and director of the United Nations Development Programme, Kalman Mizsei, and the state secretary at the ministry of social affairs in Slovenia, says Ireland has had a "stellar" record of growth in jobs and income over the last 15 years, while the standard of living for "nearly everyone" has increased at a rate unprecedented in recent European history.
However, it says faster income growth among high earners in Ireland has pushed more people in the "at risk of poverty" category.
"Income growth has been slightly larger in the upper 80 per cent of the population than it has in the lower 20 per cent. Therefore, according to the commission's indicator, although hundreds of thousands of people have been lifted out of actual poverty, Ireland is not a success story, it is a basket case."
The article says the of use relative poverty as an indicator could distort policy priorities in the EU's poorest countries.
It adds: "The best way to reduce poverty, according to this reasoning, is not to grow and produce, but to redistribute. Unfortunately, in poor countries, no amount of redistribution will make a difference in the lives of poor citizens unless the economy grows quickly for a sustained period of time."