The Government has been accused of "abandoning" targets to end poverty in a new new two-year social inclusion action plan.
Since 1997, the Government has set specific targets for the reduction of poverty levels and the current National Anti Poverty Strategy, for example, pledges to reduce levels of consistent poverty to 2 per cent by 2007. Latest figures show it is closer to 9 per cent.
However, a new strategy on combating poverty pledges to make a "decisive impact on reducing poverty" rather than setting out specific goals for the reduction of poverty.
The European Anti Poverty Network - Ireland (EAPN) yesterday accused Government of abandoning specific targets because it was clear it will not reach many of those it signed up to in the past.
A spokeswoman for Minister for Social Affairs Séamus Brennan said the document which the anti-poverty network was referring to was not the Government's new national action plan on poverty.
The new strategy document is still being prepared and will include more detail. It is due to be published later in the year, according to the Minister's spokeswoman.
EAPN Ireland co-ordinator Robin Hanan, however, said the lack of detail in the latest plan was deeply disappointing.
"The Government has failed to show how we are going to use our new wealth to meet the agreed EU objective to 'make a decisive impact on the eradication of poverty by 2010'. In general, the problems facing people in poverty are well spelt out, but few solutions are offered and the specific targets set out are extremely weak," he said.
"We can see from this plan that, for the first time since 1997, Ireland will have no serious targets to end financial poverty. Successive governments have re-committed to the National Anti Poverty Strategy target of ending consistent poverty, or reducing it to 2 per cent by 2007.
"It is now clear that this will not be reached, but there is no new target to reflect what we can achieve with our new wealth.
"Instead of targets to address the worst relative poverty in the EU, the Government seems more intent on arguing that it does not exist."
The department said, however, that it was still committed to reaching these targets.
The development of a new anti-poverty strategy comes at a time of robust debate over the best way to measure poverty. Mr Brennan said recently that relative poverty - a figure based on contrasting income levels among higher and lower earners - was not a reliable measurement, especially in a fast-growing economy.
Instead, he said he favoured the use of the term consistent poverty, which measures poverty on the basis of people who are deprived of a list of items generally agreed essential in life, such as a winter coat or a second pair of shoes.
