Irish people on average are better off, better educated and more productive than their European neighbours - but dirtier, more car-dependent and less sympathetic to the poor. Joe Humphreys reports.
So says the Central Statistics Office in a new report of "national progress indicators" aimed at informing debate between the social partners.
Measuring Ireland's Progress 2004, published yesterday, depicts a country outperforming most other EU member states in economic terms but lagging behind on quality-of-life issues.
A total of 108 indicators from 10 categories are included, ranging from income levels to rates of crime.
The report says Ireland "remains one of the most successful EU states in attracting foreign investment". But its "international trade competitiveness has deteriorated since 2000", mainly because of higher inflation and an appreciating euro.
In 2004 Ireland had the second-lowest unemployment rate in the EU at less than half the EU average, but the proportion of people living close to poverty was the joint-highest of 21 EU member states surveyed. Some 21 per cent of people were at risk of poverty in 2003, indicating a significant number of "working poor" in Ireland.
The CSO noted that pensions and social transfers had little impact on reducing the at-risk-of-poverty rate compared to other EU member states.
Ireland had the lowest rate of spending on social protection in 2001 in the 15-member EU.
Other black marks against Ireland were below-average spending on health and education services, a relatively low voter turnout and a failure to meet commitments on overseas development aid.
In addition, the report found that recycling rates in Ireland were poor by European standards. However, the percentage of waste landfilled had decreased from 87 per cent in 2001 to 72 per cent in 2003.
The report was published in response to a request in the partnership agreement Sustaining Progress for a recognised set of national progress indicators.
The CSO said it had updated an initial set of indicators, published in December 2003, for the report, adding that it delayed the release of the publication to include more up-to-date data from the enlarged 25-member EU, as well as figures from applicant states like Bulgaria and Romania.
Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said the report showed "a strong economy but a weakening society, and a Government that has its back to the future."
Ireland ranks lowest in EU for homicides: page 7; Growth ahead of euro zone average: Business This Week: 2
