Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
THE NUMBER OF people living in poverty in Ireland has increased by more than 100,000 since the onset of the recession – meaning that 750,000 people in Ireland currently live in poverty.
The figures are a “major concern” for the country, according to Social Justice Ireland (SJI), which released a new policy document on the issue today. It wants government to tackle the issue of poverty in Ireland by bringing in new initiatives such as making tax credits refundable and supporting the adoption of a living wage.
The SJI also found:
According to the National Anti-Poverty Strategy: “People are living in poverty if their income and resources (material, cultural and social) are so inadequate as to preclude them from having a standard of living that is regarded as acceptable by Irish society generally.”
SJI says that most European studies, including those carried out by the CSO, the poverty line is “at 60% of median income, adjusted to take account of family size and composition”.
According to the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the median disposable income per adult in Ireland during 2014 was €18,210 per annum or €349.98 per week.
This would mean that, based on the 2014 figure above, the 60% of median income poverty line for a single adult was €209.39 per week.
When the figures are updated to 2016 levels, using published CSO data on the change in average earnings in 2015 (+2.1%) and ESRI projections for 2016 (+2.0%) produces a relative income poverty line of €218.06 for a single person.
Solutions
Dr Seán Healy, Director of Social Justice Ireland, commented:
More than 57% of those in poverty are not connected to the labour market; they are people who are retired, students, people in caring roles or people who are ill or people with a disability.
He told TheJournal.ie that almost one in five of those who are living in poverty are people with jobs.
Social welfare was described by SJI as being of critical importance in addressing poverty. “Without social welfare payments more than half of Ireland’s population would be living in poverty; such an underlying poverty rate suggests a deeply unequal distribution of income,” pointed out Michelle Murphy, research and policy analyst at SJI.
The document also highlights the gap in income between Ireland’s rich and poor.
If the government wants to close the divide, future policy “must prioritise those at the bottom of the income distribution”, said Michelle Murphy.
The document doesn’t just set out the issues – it also suggests ways of tackling poverty in Ireland. Suggestions include:
The full document can be read here.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
About time
I’m not a fan of tips being split up among staff. When I give a tip I’d like it to go to the person that Is serving me, and I base the amount on how good the service is. I’m sure we have all been to places that has some consistently brilliant staff members but also has some staff that give the bare minimum in service without so much as a smile. I find that very unfair that the really good staff have to split what they get in tips with others who just can’t be arsed to provide a good service. I understand that staff that work behind the scenes and don’t see the customers will feel hard done by with that comment, but it should be up to the employer to give them a decent wage without having to rely on splitting tips. IMO of course.
@Gordon Larney: so why can’t the employer give everyone working there a decent wage?
@Gordon Larney:
Minimum wage = minimum service.
@Anthony Hilton: they should. But I, like many others have no problem with giving someone who is serving me a bit extra if the have made the night out more enjoyable with really good service. Wouldn’t you agree??
@Gordon Larney: it does say that where the distribution is managed by the employees the requirement to split may not apply. I guess where some individual gets a 5 euro tip there is not real problem in the employee retaining it if that is the policy. There could also be a tips jar distributed among staff. The issue is where tips are paid by card and into the employer’s bank account and could just disappear or be paid as part of salary. Now the policy has to be displayed so we know how any tip, cash or card, will be handled and distributed. I hope the ability to reward good service individually will be retained as well.
@Anthony Hilton: You need to start asking that question to the employers of the places you frequent, or even to you TD or whoever you vote for…
@Gordon Larney:
@Gordon Larney: there are lots of good staff behind the scenes that equally deserve there share of the tip that you leave.the wash up is always forgotten without there important input you wouldn’t be happy with dirty cutlery of plates
@Gordon Larney: Just wondering if you leave a tip based on the service you recieved from the person serving you or on the quality of the food. If it’s the latter, then the rest of the staff, including the chefs and pot washer deserve some of that tip. If the quality of the food is bad but the service is excellent, do you still leave a tip ?
@Anthony Hilton: Because then they would have to charge a lot more for the food, would you still go to the restaurant if the prices were higher ?
@Pj Browne: I consider the service charge, which in my experience is in every restaurant I visit to be what covers the staff behind the scenes. A tip, in my opinion is something that is giving to the person you deal with all night that can make the night a brilliant experience. When you are paying a service charge, any extra tip, in my opinion should go to them alone and not a tip jar.
@Alan Byrne: as I said just above Al.
@Anthony Hilton: If no one gets the minimum wage then it’s not the minimum wage. Who should get the minimum wage then (someone has to)?
@Gordon Larney: Can’t remember which country i was visiting but they had 2 ways of tipping. first way was if you put the money in the waiters hand it was meant for him, second way was if you put it on the little tray with the bill it was meant to be shared between the staff.
@Pj Browne: ps. PJ, I don’t consider getting a clean plate and cutlery something deserving high praise or a tip, as a matter of fact I would consider it something essential if you want customers to come back…..
@Gordon Larney: Yeah, good point on the service charge. Sometimes good service can make all the difference to the experience. Even if there is a service charge when the service is great I’ll always leave a generous tip.
@Gordon Larney: just give the individual cash discreetly. I do.
@Gordon Larney: absolutely i would agree.. I worked in both position so understand that they can ruin your night or make it epic.
To answer the rest when I said decent wage I ment give the the chefs more money so they don’t care about tips and then give the staff a better wage so they don’t need to depend on tips.
@Alan Byrne: why is that. Last week there was a social post about a single slice of toast, scoop of beans and 1 fried egg for €12.99. At those prices a decent living wage is well affordable.
6 eggs 2 tins beans and third of a loaf wouldn’t cost €5 yet turns €77.93
@Gordon Larney: what about the kitchen porters that work very in the back that never get handed a tip and get minimum wage, I remember being one and the servers used to get at least €100 per night while we got absolutely nothing, really unfair, the tips should be fairly spread out for the minimum wage staff at the very least
@Dean: no, there are thousands of people who work for minimum wage who give great service.
An absolute disgrace for using tips for that purpose in the first place. Shame on any business that did this.
@Jason Ebbs: Exactly and any that did should be named and shamed.
Absolutely fantastic well done for once. When I heard the Ivy on Dawson st was doing this I never went again.
@Chris Purnell: exactly, not sure of the name, was it fire beside mansion House that hired staff on a 2 day trial with no pay. Disgraceful
Now I’ll drink to that!
@Liam MacSuibhne: don’t forget to tip your server….!!!
Maybe let them open fully and then sort this out
@Tom McBride: i was just thinking the very same thing
Excellent!
Taxable of course
@Mattress Dick: no, tips aren’t taxed
Daughters 1st job this summer waitressing. Tips only paid out once a year before Christmas. Absolutely disgraceful. Thankfully she has work elsewhere now.
it s joke, making a tips as headline and government issues ! wasting time and resource.
hospitality sector has a bigger problems to attack
such as. low pay sector, long hours shifts, shortage of staff, stressful environment , higher local and government taxes and charges . endless regulations from different authorities . zero supports and sometime unaccepted behaviour from customers ……
Never got why a customer would be expected to “tip” an attendant. Typical US trash culture. Only happens in service trades, so the owner charges you over the top for a meal/ haircut or a lift home. Then decides to pay their staff/ workers low pay and then compel their customers to “enjoy” the service they have availed of and to then supplement their workers wages.
Not as long as I am above ground.. thanks..
Please note your credit card tips are tax again as your server receives it in their wages. I always leave cash
Am quite a regular goer to many restaurants around the country & the south of England, &, over the last 5 or 6 years, before leaving a tip, I ask “Will you actually get this?” Without exception, they have all said “oh yes”. “We get it at the end of the night”, ” End of the week” etc. How come, if witholding tips is so prevalent, I’ve not once been told that the staff will not get the tips? Something doesn’t fit. What should we believe? Are the staff being bullied into lying about what happens with their tips?
They might want to look into the hairdressing trade for withholding tips also.
That’s some bleedin tip in the photo. A bill of 17e and a similar tip..
@Togs: Vatican?
I always give a cash tip.
I worked as a kitchen porter in my last job and received over €60 a month in tips receieved
Well then don’t put tips on credit card
have your say