The poor and disadvantaged may be suffering more now than in the past, despite economic progress, the Coadjutor Archbishop of Dublin, Most Rev Diarmuid Martin, has said.
Dr Martin said he felt strongly that social disadvantage was a political question. It was why he accepted an invitation to speak to the Fine Gael "Where Stands the Just Society 2004?" seminar in Dublin yesterday, he said.
"Archbishops do not normally talk to meetings of political parties. I readily accepted this invitation, however, because it deals with a question about which I feel passionately: social disadvantage in Ireland today," he said.
Since returning to Ireland last year his attention had been drawn more and more to the situation of those who had not been able to benefit fully from Ireland's new wealth.
"Poverty and disadvantage are central questions for politics and politicians, of all political parties. Too often the disadvantaged have been looked on primarily as the constituents of civil society, of the churches or of community or voluntary organisations. The fight against poverty and disadvantage today must become, more than ever before, a primary political concern," he said.
Acknowledging "the impressive economic progress over the last decades", he noted that "disadvantage is still present and for many its effects are perhaps even harsher than in the past." Fine Gael deputy leader Mr Richard Bruton said the party's pursuit of social justice was founded on several key principles. These included equality of opportunity; self-reliant citizens exercising control over their lives; solidarity with people who need help; and strong families and strong communities.
"These values have their roots in Irish tradition and in the concept of a social contract. They define both rights and responsibilities in a just society," he said.
Fine Gael's work to restate its values was "not to retreat to old certainties. Its purpose is to help us to understand changes which are occurring and to manage that change."
The governor of Mountjoy prison, Mr John Lonergan, told the seminar there was "no such thing as justice". The fundamentals of our society were wrong, he said. "We live in a social status-tiered society, so we are always going to have those who will emotionally suffer."
On any day, 75 per cent of prisoners in Mountjoy were from Dublin, and they came from "six tiny pockets" in the city.
He noted from a study of access to third-level education that 77.8 per cent of pupils at second level in Foxrock went on to college education. The figure for Ballyfermot/Chapelizod was 7.8 per cent. "Now, you're not telling me people in Foxrock are morally superior," he said.
But what was popular was seldom right, and what was right was seldom popular.
