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    Seanad 2.0

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    33real reform of our system of govern-ment will not be achieved by abolishing the seanad. senator Feargal Quinn and I, along with colleagues from the seanad reform Group*, believe that the public should be presented with an alternative to the government’s near-sighted approach of ‘abolition or retention’. The focus of public debate has now shifted to the question of ‘reform or abolition’. we achieved this change by publishing a consul-tation document that engaged civil society with the possibilities for real reform. we have used that consultation and our own research to develop a radical piece of legisla-tion that would transform the seanad in the way that it is elected, who is elected, what powers it holds and how it does its business. a reformed seanad has the potential to ensure that politics in Ireland is not a closed shop. It has the possibility to empower ordinary people and to give them a voice and a real opportunity to afect the imple-mentation of policy and legislation. The focus of the seanad Bill, put forward by senator Quinn and myself, is on the transforma-tion of the seanad. It is not an attempt to save the House in its current form. The efectiveness of the old seanad was diminished, because it was under-rep-resentative of the people and did not serve the best inter-ests of the people – both the majority and minorities. our Bill puts forward a number of innovative proposals. The current limited and elitist elector-ate would be dispensed with in favour of universal sufrage. Those in Northern Ireland who wish to vote in seanad elections would have the opportu-nity to do so, as would Irish citizens living aboard. The new seanad would achieve a gender balance of 50 per cent women and 50 per cent men. The candidate nomination process would be opened up by dispensing with the special role for oireachtas members. Nomination by popular support and by local authorities would be pro-vided for. an increase in the number and range of nominating bodies would provide candidates that are representative of a broader sample of Irish society. These new voices and expertise could con-structively and positively hold the policies and ideas of the Cabinet, the dáil, the political par-ties, and the regulators to greater account. The bill outlines new powers for the seanad across a range of areas. These include the power to scrutinise draft eu regulations and directives, statutory instruments and ministerial appoint-ments to public bodies, to name a few. The new Bill ofers a way to radically open up the seanad without the need for a referendum. The government is scrambling for any cogent argument against seanad reform. No rationale was given for the exclusion of the issue from the Constitutional Convention other than the govern-ment’s resolve to hold an abolition referendum. Paradoxically our reform bill was accepted by the government when it was presented in the seanad. This is a welcome development in the debate and reinforces the fact that closing the seanad is not justifed. The cost argument does not hold. The seanad currently costs less than 110 million annually. It provides a vital system of checks and balances on the power of the executive and the dáil major-ity. seanad eireann is an integral arm of the governance of this country as laid down in our Constitution. Now is not the time to reduce the scrutiny of our laws.The question of seanad abolition will be put to the electorate shortly. an ad hoc group of peo-ple from diverse backgrounds and ideologies who share a common commitment to political reform has now formed a campaign for seanad reform called ‘democracy Matters: open It, don’t Close It’. a small group of concerned individuals is organically evolving into an expanding pub-lic campaign directed by people from across all political, demographic and ideological hues with one thing in common: to promote a robust Irish democracy through a reformed seanad. *The seanad reform Group was established in early 2012 by senator Feargal Quinn, senator Katherine Zappone, Michael Mcdowell, Joe o’Toole, and Noel whelan.katherine zapponepoliticsSeanad 2.0elected by all from representative panels to hold authorities to accountreformableNow is not the time to reduce the scrutiny of our laws“

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    Lairdie, Lairdie

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    26 — villageJune – July 2013THe political demise of ulster unionist, lord laird, who has lost the party whip after being stung by the Daily Telegraph/BBC Panorama in the latest ‘cash for access’ scandal, may not be as shocking to those who have observed, and been at the receiving end, of his political antics over the years. The good lord is a public-relations man who has always been alive to opportunities to improve his own fnances through his vital political work in the British upper house as these latest revelations appear to confrm. Previously, he had been prominent through his role as chairman of the ulster scots agency which he vigorously promoted as a counterpunch to what he perceived as the ‘Fenian’-inspired Irish-language movement in the North. His eforts to politicise the language issue did not go down well with the scottish language-enthusiasts, or the Irish ones. He also worked as an advisor to the loyalist Commission, an assortment of unionists and former loyalist paramilitaries as they sought to challenge the republican and nationalist narrative during the early years of the peace process.His elevation to the House of lords in 1999 provided him with a unique platform from which to ply his particular brand of polit-ically-loaded propaganda which also happened to coincide with the interests of some of his clients. In early 2005, he launched a vitriolic attack on former Taoiseach, Bertie ahern, over the latter’s alleged links to former trade-union ofcial, Phil Flynn, then under investigation in relation to the Northern Bank rob-bery. later in the year he abused his parliamentary privilege when entering into the controversy surrounding the newly-established Centre for Public Inquiry, and in particular this writer, when he accused it of being an “intelligence gathering operation” for sinn Féin. In a remarkable coincidence, both stories had been a matter of considerable interest to the Sunday Independentwhich then ran lengthy and “exclusive” extracts from lord laird’s “priv-ileged” speeches. Coincidental too, that lord laird acted as a paid Pr consultant to the news-paper. In 2002, he provoked the ire of the late Inez McCormack (the frst female president of ICTu) who complained to the uN over laird’s “misuse” of parliamentary privilege to attack the Belfast-based human-rights group, Committee for the administration of Justice, which had a strong record of revealing abuses by the British security forces in the North.In 2005, laird went on to claim in the lords that there were 200 Ira “sleepers” in high places in the republic, a claim that also resonated with the more hysterical outbursts from the Sindo. during the same year he found himself in hot water when it emerged that while chairman of the ulster-scots agency, laird had spent in excess of £2500 of public money on taxis between Belfast and dublin.His penchant for highlighting, under lords privilege, issues that appealed to the muck-raking tendencies of the Sindo, and the vibrant reciproc-ity of Ireland’s best-selling sunday, must have seemed like a marriage made in heaven at the time but lord laird’s habit of digging ever deeper holes for himself has prejudiced the relationship more recently.There was scarcely a peep out of the newspaper in March when laird defended his cli-ent, us businessman Christopher Knight, against allegations of child sexual abuse. Knight did not contest charges in Florida that he had sexually assaulted a victim, then 12 to 15 years old, in 2003. laird described the allegations as a “minor misdemeanour”, although he later apologised for his remarks after being rebuked by uuP leader, Mike Nesbitt. He said the ill-advised comments arose from his “professional association” with Knight who was seeking to invest in the Belfast Giants hockey team.It will be interesting to note the response of the Sindoto the televised disclosure that its favourite peer is accused of seeking £2000 per month in exchange for getting questions raised in the lords that could be helpful to the authori-ties in Fiji. “I’ll deny having said this, but it’s a bribe….the sort of thing I can say to these guys…you put that question down now, I thought you were inter-ested in Fiji, would you like to come down to it, you know, I believe it’s quite nice… I can whisper that”, laird was recorded as saying to undercover journalists posing as representatives of the Fiji government. on this occasion, Nesbitt decided an apology was not enough and, pending the outcome of a review by westminster authorities, asked laird to resign the party whip. frank connolly newsLairdie, Lairdieresigned lord laird’s symbiotic relationsip with the Sindoover the years promoted some regressive causesLaird laid barei’ll deny having said this, but it’s a bribe….’“ 27

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    Abuse and austerity

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    25oNe in fve women in Ireland is abused by a current or former husband, partner or boyfriend, at some stage in their lifetime. since 1996 there have been 190 women murdered in the republic of Ireland, of whom 74 were murdered by a partner or ex-partner. In all of the resolved cases, 99% of perpetrators were male and 1% was female. women’s aid launches its annual report next week. since the start of the recession, we have seen a 16% increase in contacts to our support services, while our statutory fund-ing has been cut by 19%. The maths only hints at the misery and stress. Many women who are victims of domestic violence are fnding that the eco-nomic downturn means that they and their children are trapped in violent situations with ever-dwindling options to escape.recession does not cause domestic violence. There is noth-ing that suggests that current economic circumstances are causing men, who once treated their partner with respect and love, to suddenly become abusive. For many women afected by domestic violence, however, the economic downturn is leading to more frequent and more dangerous abuse and the reces-sion is being used by abusive men to excuse their behaviour. redundancies and unemployment may give abusive men the opportunity to increase the levels of abuse they infict on their partners as they may be around the house more. Increased fnancial pressure may increase stress and potentially lead to greater use of alcohol and drugs, both recognised dis-inhibiters that may lead to more severe abuse. The ability of the women to escape domes-tic violence is being hampered by the recession. women fear increased impoverishment, losing their home and the efect of poverty on their chil-dren. women who do try to leave often fnd that vital supports such as housing, refuge, welfare and legal representation are harder or impos-sible to access.almost 20 years ago a women’s aid study found that having nowhere to go was the main reason women gave for not leaving an abusive relationship. This barrier has been worsened by the recession. restrictions on social hous-ing and rent allowance are problematic. often, women cannot sell their home due to the reces-sion and as joint owners they have no access to social housing. The lack of housing stock means that even women who are eligible for social housing have nowhere to move. refuges report that they are unable to meet demand. viva House in dublin, for example, has had to turn away four out of fve women seeking emergency accommodation. at the same time, Teach Tearmain in Kildare has a refuge built but which remains closed because of lack of funding.These barriers to women leaving abusive relationships are exacerbated by fnancial abuse by a controlling boyfriend, husband or partner. This includes women’s belongings sold without their consent; women forced to pay their abuser’s debt or debt being arranged in their name only; women denied access to the family fnances for food, medication and the payment of household bills; women forced to put all social-welfare entitlements in their abuser’s name; women’s signatures forged on cheques; and women forced to put the abuser’s name on the deeds of the house.last year we highlighted concerns about the number of disclosures of child abuse to women’s aid. It looks likely that our 2012 fgures for this abuse will show a further increase. women report that their children are being hit, smacked, constantly shouted at, and in some cases, sexually abused. Many children witness their mother being shouted at, threatened, physically assaulted and at times have seen their mother being raped. where children do not directly see the abuse occurring they may overhear abusive incidents, or will see the aftermath of it such as bruises, broken bones, dam-aged furniture and belongings.Given the links between child abuse and domestic violence, it is impor-tant to protect the child through protecting the non-abusive parent, usually the mother, who should be seen as the most natural person to help in child-protection situations. This should be refected in any changes to family law or domestic violence legislation, as well as in any child protection structures. Margaret Martin is director of women’s aid – National Freephone Helpline 1800 341 900, 10am to 10pm, 7 days a week, www.womensaid.iemargaret martinnewsAbuse and austerityThe recession is hampering excape for victims of domestic violenceWomen’s aid has seen a 16% increase in contacts while statutory funding has been cut by 19%“

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    Temple Bar –Dublin’s crony quarter

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    22 — villageJune – July 2013newsTemple Bar – Dublin’s crony quarter 23so what’s happening in Cultureland that nobody in the arts wants to talk about? what of Temple Bar Cultural Trust (TBCT), dublin Contemporary, the City arts Centre, the Hugh lane, and IMMa? and more. why, oh why, are our poets so silent? our artistic community schtum? Fear stalks Cultureland. Fear that the regimes of vested interest – the self-serving organisations and individuals who have dominated and ‘agency cap-tured’ the arts sector for the best part of 25 years – are about to snap asunder because their dark and sinister arts of cronyism and cartelism will be exposed. Never had so few, with their huge sal-aries and even bigger egos, had it so good. Take your seats ladies and Gentlemen, the show is about to begin.at the heart of this episode is Temple Bar, for so long the big brother of dublin’s arts, having been run since the 1990s by arts administra-tors. Most famous was the frst wave, ushered in by Charlie Haughey and his gushing lieuten-ant, Paddy Teahon. That was the Temple Bar Properties of laura Magahy and Patricia Quinn (remember them?). ultimately it was succeeded – via a legacy of infated land values, dispos-sessed artists, and destructive pub expansions – by the TBCT led by dermot Mclaughlin, who was suspended after three members of staf were ofered redundancy packages worth more than €100,000 each, and who recently resigned from his position at derry City of Culture. The many cultural organisations in Temple Bar are predominantly funded by the state through the arts Council, the department of arts, and dublin City Council (dCC). TBCT is a private company that manages a property port-folio belonging to dCC. This property is in the form of commercial units and what are known as ‘cultural use’ units. about €2.5m in rent is gener-ated from these publicly-owned properties. The cultural properties are all low rent or no rent, paid for out of grants from the arts Council. The dublin City Manager, TBCT’s sole shareholder, is a somewhat absentee landlord, by and large. a culture of insider trading and nepotism has developed in state-funded arts organisations and nowhere is this more pronounced than in the so-called ‘arts cluster’ in Temple Bar. The inner circle of ruling-class culture elites could systemati-cally arrange cosy deals for their buddies, while at the same time indulging substantial arrears from tenants and getting paid fat fees them-selves. The likes of The Theatre Institute, Temple Bar Galleries, smock alley, and the revamping of Meeting House square availed of lucrative arrangements and loans.a recent audit report draws alarming atten-tion to these arrangements. on the other hand, hard-pressed and strug-gling artists were disempowered and disregarded. The whole culture of creative arts and culture was hijacked, commandeered by ‘administration’ masquerading as creativity, or guardian of crea-tivity. They had successfully rendered the means of production unto their own pockets.That dCC audit report, released in March, into TBCT’s working practices 2011-12, makes an extraordinary 59 recommendations, while not imputing any wrongdoing. Thirty are rated at the highest rate of urgency for change. In the section on Board direction and Control it states: “The strategy/Business Plan was not approved by the Board for 2010/11. Board minutes and Board Papers were not available to show that loans of €2m and overdraft facilities of €500,000 pro-vided by ulster Bank were approved by the board. external auditors of TBCT have been in place for ten years in contravention of good corporate gov-ernance”. The next section on fnancial reporting states: “Financial Procedures were not in place. a procedures manual is currently being drawn up by TBCT”. The report says: “all six vaT returns for 2011 were late and there was no segrega-tion of duties in the preparations of these vaT returns”. In the section relating to expenditure it reads: “Contract (including Ceo contract) or other documentation was unavailable in three out of four cases”. The report goes on: “during the expenditure testing, salary advances to staf (including the Ceo) of €5,857 in 2011 were noted. Company credit cards were used in 2011 for personal expenditure amounting to €2,550 and later repaid through salary reductions. “The majority of the credit card expenditure sampled did not have appropriate receipts or documen-tation to verify the business requirement for the expenditure”. TBCT used its nebulous status as a ‘Trust’ to evade the normal minima of corpo-rate governance.recently, an ad hocnetwork of cultural organ-isations from the Temple Bar Quarter met the interim city manager, Philip Maguire, in a fee-ble attempt to look like a coherent cultural body which could infuence the future for the collapsed and disgraced TBCT. of course, they were given a pat on the head and told not to worry. The group, inevitably, benefts from the cosy crony-ism at TBCT, as nearly all of them rented property from that organisation. They have not made any public comment about the scandalous fndings mannix flynnThe culture of culture in dublin is secretive, nepotistic, child-like, elitist, feeble, spendthrift and bureaucratic 24 — villageJune – July 2013of the dCC audit of TBCT, and are slow to make any observations on the taxpayer-funded 2011 latitude report which concluded that the trust should be wound down within three years and its activities taken on by dublin City Council, to save the council €800,000 a year. Yet now with an end in sight for TBCT, many of them are leaping up and down wildly in order to save their posi-tions and their cushy little numbers. Needless to say, no actual practising artists were part of this closed shop.The Campaign for the arts, the Theatre Forums, Irish actors equity and aosdána among others must break the silence, even though they may be part of the problem. It is said that the arts and culture and the poets are good for shin-ing light in other people’s dark corners; it is time now to shine that light on our own.a full evaluation and audit should take place of exactly who got the

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    Laddington Road

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    21THe journey from “Croke Park” to “Haddington road” has been bumpy for public-sector management or public-sec-tor unions. Pay and working hours have been the main focus. Issues of gender equality have not received much attention.This is shameful given that the public sector is a major employer of women. In 2010 the edu-cation and health sectors employed 35% of all women employees in Ireland. 81.9% of those working in the health sector and 73.3% of those working in the education sector, were women.The public sector is dramatically gender une-qual. 77.4% of clerical ofcers in the civil service were women in 2010, whereas only some 16% of those at the level of secretary General and assistant secretary were women. only 10% of women assistant secretaries are married. women in the health sector accounted for 91.9% of nurses, but only 35.7% of consultants.one factor that makes the public sector attrac-tive to women is the extensive availability of working arrangements that enable employees to balance work and family responsibilities. eu data highlight the importance of this. The labour-mar-ket participation of mothers is 12.1 percentage points lower than for women without children. The reverse is true for men. The labour-market participation of fathers is 8.7 percentage points higher than for men without children. Irish research in 2008 highlighted that women spend substantially more time on car-ing and household work than men. women are more likely to work fewer hours per week in paid employment than men. women represented 75.3% of those working less than 29 hours a week in paid employment in 2011. Flexible working arrangements are key to women remaining in the labour market.The rejected Croke Park Two proposals included provisions that undermined work-sharing and fex-ible working arrangements in the public sector. The INMo commis-sioned a gender impact assessment of the draft proposals by this author. It found that the proposals would disproportionately and negatively impact on women and would tend to push women with caring respon-sibilities to leave employment.The ‘Haddington road agreement’ also includes sections on “work-sharing” and “Flexible working arrangements (Flexitime)”. It is hard to understand why these feature so prominently, and unhelp-fully, in an agreement committed to “pay and productivity measures”. National and international research has found that produc-tivity is enhanced by the use of fexible working arrangements. Male dominated management would appear to disagree. The agreement states that work-sharing has created “a signifcant management challenge and overhead”. research, however, points to the need for such arrangements to be managed diferently from traditional working patterns. a focus on trust over control, and on outcomes rather than inputs is required. It is not inconceivable that issues of limited management capacity are at play in the perspective on fexible working evident in the agreement.The agreement does not provide much detail but it appears to presage a diminution in work-sharing and in fexible working arrangements. There is repetitive reference to management’s “discretion to alter or change an individual’s work-sharing arrangements”. The only criteria identifed are the business needs of the organi-sation. There is no reference to any reasonable accommodation of those with caring responsi-bilities. Individual work-sharing arrangements are to be formally reviewed annually.The agreement states that “it is now necessary to update the [fexible working arrangements] to better refect the current needs of organi-sations” and that such arrangements are only possible “so long as they support and enhance the efcient operation of departments/ofces”. The core time-bands may be amended and staf at assistant Principal level and equivalent will not be able to avail of the arrangements unless they already do so.several unions have secured some protection for their members. The “current work sharing arrangements as set out in various departmental Circulars will continue to apply” to IMPaCT grades in the local authority sector. “Management do not propose to review” fexibility in attend-ance arrangements for nursing and midwifery personnel in the health sector. These exceptions are a positive indicator of concern for gender equality. what remains unexplained is the apparent hostility of man-agement to gender equality. The need for gender impact assessments of all such agreements is conspicuous. Niall Crowley is a former Ceo of the equality authority who works as a consultant about equality.Haddington Road cultureniall crowleynewssexist Haddington road agreement undermines work-sharingLaddington Road“77.4% of clerical offcers in the civil service were women in 2010 whereas only some 16% of those at secretary general and assistant secretary level were women

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    A5 gets an F

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    20 — villageJune – July 2013THe North’s High Court has quashed an order by regional development Minister, danny Kennedy, to proceed with construction of two parts of the a5 dual-carriageway. This is the largest planning-re-lated decision ever overturned by a court in the North. The grounds were that the department of regional development had failed to carry out an appropriate assessment under the eu Habitats directive of the impact on the Foyle and Finn rivers, as required under european law. The directive requires that any plan or project likely to have signifcant efects on the management of special areas of conservation be the subject of an appropriate assessment unless the risk of signif-cant likely efects on the sites can be excluded on the basis of objective information.The a5 was to be the North’s largest-ever road project. originally it was to run 54 miles from aughnacloy, on the Monaghan-Tyrone border, to Newbuildings, three miles south of derry. at aughnacloy, it was to link with the N2 from dublin. The government had initially com-mitted to pay half the cost, some £400m. Two years ago it withdrew that commitment, then last year agreed to pay £50m in two parts. last year, Kennedy had announced the decision to go ahead with stretches from Ballygawley, Co Tyrone, to omagh, and strabane to Newbuildings.The judgment was a victory for campaigners in the alternative a5 alliance (aa5a). This is a coalition of farmers and environmental cam-paigners, and raised £100,000 (€118,500) to fght the case.In his judgment, Judge stephens drew on evi-dence given by the loughs agency, a Cross-Border body, at the public inquiry into the project. The agency expressed concerns about potential dam-age from construction work “increased levels of silt in the rivers, increased levels of salt, loss of habitats, the lack of emergency pollution bunkers, increased fows of water into the river through inadequate drainage, a lack of maintenance of devices aimed at reducing water fows, the risk of polluted ground water entering the rivers from an old municipal land fll site and old industrial sites near strabane, impact on salmon and their habi-tat, and pollution”. He noted that this evidence was not challenged at the Public Inquiry. Justice stephens concluded: “In order to determine whether the scheme had been prop-erly engineered detail was required in relation to the remedial measures. That detail was absent and signif-cant efects could not be excluded”.There was a cross-border touch to the judgment: Mr Justice stephens quoted from an opinion of uK advocate-General eleanor sharpston, delivered at the european Court in the case of Peter sweetman v an Bord Pleanála, in respect of the Galway City by-pass.The judge dismissed 11 other grounds of appeal which the aa5a raised.Kennedy has announced he is not appealing the judgment. However, in Kennedy’s state-ment to the assembly he said: “The non-appeal route ofers the best opportunity to progress the scheme in a reasonable timescale. However, the decision of the court means that there will be a delay while further assessment work is completed”.deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said the executive intends to press ahead with the project within 12 to 18 months. “However, there is still total commitment from the executive and the Irish government to the scheme”, he said. “during the discussions with éamon Gilmore, we (McGuinness and Peter robinson) also took the opportunity to remind him that the First Minister and I, in previous conversations with enda Kenny, had pressed the Irish government to ensure that the decision that they took to withdraw from their part of the scheme — with the exception of £50m — needed to be reviewed on an ongoing basis. The Taoiseach gave us a com-mitment that it would be reviewed in 2013”.There has been remarkably little discussion in the oireachtas about the project. as a general aspiration, it was included in the National development Plan 2007-2013: “The completion by 2013 of a high quality road network on the inter-urban routes linking the major population centres of dublin, Belfast and the North west (especially the letterkenny-derry Gateway)” .The politicians who are most vocal in support of the dual-car-riageway are nationalist. The project was agreed as a side deal between northern nationalist representatives and the two gov-ernments in the talks leading up to the st andrews agreement. However, sources in the duP are resentful at its being labelled a ‘nationalist road’ as they believe they are equally supportive.Meanwhile, there are questions over the viability of the project. The plan to make the N2 a dual-carriageway from Clontibret (Co Monaghan) to connect with the a5 at aughnacloy has been suspended. Trafc levels on the N2 between Monaghan and aughnacloy fell by 15% in the fve years to July last year. There is nothing that predicts an increase in the foreseeable future. anton McCabe has been a freelance contributor to the Sunday World, Sunday Life, Newsletterand Spotlight.anton mccabe newsA5 gets an Fas trafc falls, North’s High Court overturns unnecessary habitat-destroying road for inadequate assessment of its efects, for the momentThe road would have gone within 20m of this habitat on the FoyleThe government had initially committed to pay half the cost, some £400m. Two years ago it withdrew that commitment“

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    The most unequal, before taxation (2010)

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    18 — villageJune – July 2013THe oeCd recently released an update of its income inequality sta-tistics. This provides a high-level analysis of income inequality across 33 oeCd countries for the frst three years of the crisis, up to the end of 2010. while important, the data used are 3-4 years old and a lot has happened in the intervening period of tax increases and public-expenditure cuts.Income inequality increased by more in the frst three years of the crisis to the end of 2010 than it had in the previous twelve years, before factor-ing in the efect of taxes and transfers, according to the report. our welfare systems have cushioned the blow for many but the report warns that fur-ther social-spending cuts in oeCd countries risk causing greater inequality The most unequal, before taxation (2010)oeCd says Ireland’s tax and beneft system raises us from worst out of 31 to 17th worst out of 31, for direct income newssinéad pentonypHoTo: eogHaN Barry 19Chart 1: Income Distribution and InequalitySource: ETuI, Benchmarking Working Europe, 2013.and poverty in the years ahead.The report includes country-specifc data on the Gini coefcient for direct income (household income prior to taxes and transfers). direct income includes employee earnings, employer PrsI, self-employed earnings and other direct income. The Gini coefcient measures income inequality, with a score of zero signifying all households having identical income and a score of 100 meaning all income going to one household. For the 31 countries included in this analysis, Ireland had the highest level of inequality for direct income by some distance. The (2009) Irish fgure of 59.1 is well above the oeCd average of 47.0.Ireland’s tax and transfer system, on the other hand, had the biggest impact on reducing the level of income inequality, giving us a net Gini coefcient score of 30.7 compared to an oeCd average of 31.3. This puts us 17th out of 31 countries, making us more equal than the oeCd average albeit by a narrow margin. However, this must be seen in a context of a general rise in income inequality across the board, internationally.This outcome reinforces the importance of the tax and beneft system in protecting low-income households and in re-distributing income from the top to the bottom. our taxation system is clearly progressive and efective in terms of re-distribution. However, the fgures also highlight that huge income diferentials persist in Ireland even in times of crisis.High levels of income inequality have social and economic consequences. They increase the risk of poverty and stife economic activity, particularly in the domestic economy. In 2011 the eu Member states with high levels of income inequality also featured high levels of risk of poverty. Ireland was 10th out 27 eu Member states, putting us with the group of coun-tries with higher than average levels of inequality and risk of poverty. The other countries in this group include Poland, Italy, Portugal and the uK. Chart 1 illustrates this relationship between income inequality and at-risk-of-poverty rates in the eu Member states. It uses the ‘at-risk-of-poverty’ indicator and the quintile share-ratio measure, which measure the income gap between the top 20% and the bottom 20% of earners. Policy options to reduce income inequality include raising incomes at the bottom, capping incomes at the top, using the tax and beneft system to re-distribute income, and ensuring that big corporations pay their fair share in taxes. The latter requires a global response to ensure multinational corporations pay their fair share. Income caps and reductions have been introduced in the public sector and the social-welfare system provides a minimum income in Ireland. But, with over 730,000 people at risk of pov-erty, the current levels of social welfare are clearly inadequate. The government plans to close the remainder of the defcit primarily through spending cuts, with minimal tax increases. The oeCd recently published fgures for the tax wedge (essentially the diference between before- and after- tax wages) in ‘Taxing wages 2013’. The tax wedge is generally reported as a percentage of total labour costs, including PrsI. This report shows that for a single worker without children, Ireland has the lowest tax wedge in the eu and the seventh lowest among the 34 oeCd member states included in this report. Ireland’s income-tax take is around the oeCd average, but the social-insurance contributions for both employees and employers are below average (see Chart2). a gradual move towards oeCd-average levels of social security Contributions (PrsI) would strengthen our social safety net and enable a basic level of income for everyone. Chart 2: Social Insurance ContributionsHigh levels of income inequality increase the risk of poverty and stife economic activity“

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