Irish Examiner view: People in poverty are left behind

Irish Examiner

2 days ago

For a country that dragged itself out of poverty to wealth, we have certainly left a lot of people behind.
St Vincent de Paul, at the coalface of citizens' attempts to keep up, not with the neighbours, but with the bare essentials, has called for a €16-a-week welfare increase to keep pace with the cost of living. And that's just the core rate, and not including other allowances that are vital to many people's survival.
The core rate increase amounts to just over €830 a year — and frankly, one wonders if that's even enough, given the rates of inflation in recent years and the global uncertainty that a US-EU trade war might bring, not to mention the ever-present threat or reality of homelessness for far too many of our fellow citizens.
The charity expects to get 250,000 calls this year. Let us recall that the population of the island is about 5.2m. SvP's head of social policy, Louise Bayliss, described it as 'policy failure', given this country's wealth. With the Government ruling out one-off measures to deal with the cost of living, urgency turns to how we can protect our most vulnerable people.
One wonders how countries with similar populations that follow the Nordic model, such as Denmark and Finland, can seemingly deliver better outcomes for the people there than Ireland, which has a bigger GDP?
The sad reality is that our problems are generally within our capability to solve, yet show no signs of abating even in the medium term. And that's a reality we should all sit with and contemplate — after all, how many of us are one lost job or one missed payment away from serious trouble?
Times change, and relevance fades
Cork city councillor Terry Shannon has objected to a process to rename Cork's Bishop Lucey Park, saying that Ireland is now 'a cold place' for Catholics. But is it?
There is merit, certainly, in retaining elements of history, given how they inform our overall identity, as explored by Sarah Harte on these pages and in Monday's editorial.
However, times do change, whether people like it or not, and what may be a touchstone for a previous generation may not have the same resonance for the current.
The idea of wanting to rename areas associated with religious figures, given the numerous sexual abuse scandals involving the Church, as well as its historic role in oppressing women and children via mother and baby homes or industrial schools, seems quite reasonable. Let us remember that this is a vote simply to begin a process: The destination has yet to be reached.
The suggestion of renaming the park isn't new, and can be found at least as far back as the aftermath of the commission into mother and baby homes in 2020.
Although Cornelius Lucey — an opponent of contraception and a believer that the Church was right in everything including politics — may not be personally involved in any of the controversies affecting the institution, the stains on the Church affect him by association.
For instance, he was responsible for founding the St Anne's Adoption Society in 1954 to arrange the adoption of babies born to unmarried Irish mothers in Britain. An Irish Examiner investigation in 2018 found that an unmarked plot in St Finbarr's Cemetery was bought by the society, which closed in 2003. Four children are buried in it, with the deaths occurring between 1979 and 1990. A neighbouring plot is owned by a different organisation that ran nursery services for the St Anne's Society.
The Irish Examiner has reported extensively on the issues relating to adoption in this country. It is enough to warrant wariness in a republic that, for all its faults, endeavours to look forward rather than dogmatically back.
Of the at least 5.2m people in the country, almost 70% identify as Catholics, which suggests that even as Mass attendance continues to shrink, that there is still plenty of warmth in that as a broad identity.
How relevant people see religion as being part of their everyday life is another debate entirely, and one that predominantly remains between an individual and their own heart.
Ultimately, what councillors voted in favour of is a renaming process — a decision on the name is still some way off, and what's to say the original name won't stay?
The park, which councillors have noted will bear no resemblance to the one that closed for a revamp in 2023, will belong to the people of Cork. Shouldn't it be up to them to decide if they want to stick with the old or give it a brand new identity?
Healy is an inspiration
For a relatively small island, we have always tended to punch above our weight in culture and sport, with cyclist Ben Healy now taking his place on our list of elite names by being the first Irishman in 38 years to take a yellow jersey at the Tour de France.
The last were Stephen Roche (1987) and Sean Kelly (1983), more than a whole generation ago, with Shay Elliot being the first in 1963.
At 24, Healy, born in England and of Waterford ancestry, has plenty of life left in his legs, and even if he doesn't win the overall competition, it is exciting to see how well he's done at this nascent stage of his career, having only turned pro in 2022.
Alongside our cluster of Olympic gold medallists, one hopes he can help inspire the next generation of Irish youth, at home and in the diaspora. No pressure, Ben.