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Irish Examiner
03-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Income gap widened significantly under previous Government, new report finds
Income inequality rose sharply during the previous Government's term, according to a new report. Over the course of the five budgets introduced by the coalition, the gap between rich and poor widened by €963 a year, or €18.45 a week. In contrast, the gap between middle-income and low-income households narrowed by €204 annually, or €3.92 weekly, according to analysis by Social Justice Ireland. This narrowing was driven by the 'skewed nature of income reduction choices,' which the report said favoured higher earners and offered relatively little to low-income workers paying income tax at the standard rate over the five years. The divide between rich and poor grew significantly in 2025 due to the end of most temporary cost-of-living supports and substantial income tax cuts for wealthier households. Temporary measures in Budget 2025 were primarily targeted at welfare-dependent households and low-income workers. For example, these measures represented 47–62% of income gains for pensioners, but only 11–16% for couples earning over €100,000. Once temporary supports—such as electricity credits and one-off welfare payments—expire, the impact of permanent measures will persist and further widen income inequality, the Tracking the Distributive Effects of Budget Policy – 2025 Edition report said. Low-income workers earning between €30,000 and €40,000 a year—just above minimum wage—gained little from income tax changes, as their earnings were below the thresholds for most reductions. Households earning below the standard income tax threshold benefited least from Government measures between 2020 and 2025. During this period, weekly income gains ranged from €3.34 for couples earning €30,000 to €110–€120 for couples with incomes above €100,000. "Overall, our results suggest that budgetary policy over recent years has reduced the gap between people/households of working age in the bottom and middle of the income distribution while opening a greater gap between them and those with the highest incomes," said Research and Policy Analyst with Social Justice Ireland, Michelle Murphy. "Social Justice Ireland regrets that policy outcome, as a society we can ill afford to see the incomes of those with the most resources drift further away." Ms Murphy said the decline in the relative position of low- and middle-income households paints a troubling picture, where much of the progress made on income equality risks being undone by recent policy decisions. "Looking ahead, reversing these growing income gaps will pose important challenges for future budgetary policy of the new Government particularly as it prepares for its first budget," said Ms Murphy. "The commitment to run progressive budgets in the programme for government is the context in which these income gaps must be addressed." Social Justice Ireland continues to advocate for refundable tax credits as a fairer way to support low-income earners. Read More Only 60 of 4,800 dangerous driving reports to online Traffic Watch system result in a fine
CBC
21-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
N.L. medical teams filling a 'desperate' need for women's health care in Uganda
Thousands of kilometres from their Newfoundland and Labrador clinics, a medical team spent a week delivering essential care to women and children in Uganda at the beginning of May. It was Team Broken Earth's first time in the country, but according to its chief operating officer, it won't be their last. "The need is desperate," Michelle Murphy said. "And I'm really looking forward to returning and doing more. We just really touched the surface in a week." Team Broken Earth was founded in Newfoundland and Labrador as a medical response to a 2010 earthquake that killed nearly a quarter of a million people in Haiti. Since then, teams from across Canada have been travelling to other countries to provide medical relief where it's not readily available. This time, they had help from a group of doctors with Clinic 215, a downtown St. John's clinic focusing on women's reproductive health. An immense need Dr. Kelly Monaghan — the owner of Clinic 215 — described the recent medical trip as a "profound experience" and says her team came back home feeling grateful. "I think we saw an immense need and we had started to do what we could to fill a little bit of that void," she said. Initially, the 10-member crew thought they would focus on intrauterine device insertions, working with Save the Young Mothers Uganda, an organization focused on teen mothers and women's health. But after seeing the medical needs of the community, the plan grew to encompass more than just contraception, says Monaghan. They provided maternity care, sepsis treatment, miscarriage management, hemorrhage management, vaginal repairs, and sexually transmitted infections and pelvic inflammatory disease treatment. Murphy says women in many parts of Uganda face medical inequities, like a lack of access to contraception, limited prenatal care, and a deeply rooted stigma surrounding reproductive health. "Women's health has been pretty low on the agenda globally," said Monaghan, who's long been an activist for women's rights and health care. "But in places like Uganda, you really see the frank catastrophes that come with the situation where women's lives are devalued or dehumanized." "We're under no illusions that that little trip has changed the life course of the women in Uganda. But if you do strengthen one woman, as I've realized at Clinic 215… that has a profound impact on their family and the trajectory of their lives and communities." Murphy, who's been with Team Broken Earth since 2013, says the organization started as a response to a single crisis, but has grown into "a movement powered by compassion." "This really brought me back to our grassroots," she said. "It was an eye opening week for sure. We learned lots from them as well." Murphy said when they travel, it's not just about providing short-term care. It's about education. "Working alongside of them, we did a lot of teaching," she said. "Which I think, you know, that's the sustainable model in any place you go. You want to teach them so that when we are away, they can still sustain their own communities." She says the communities they visit are grateful for the help. "They have very little. And they want to give you something of their very little to thank you," she said. The Newfoundland and Labrador chapter of Team Broken Earth, as well as Monaghan, will be in Guatemala in the fall. Both Monaghan and Murphy say they plan to return to Uganda next year.
