Ireland has the highest level of poverty in the western world outside the US, a major United Nations report to be launched by the Taoiseach in Dublin today is expected to say.
And in spite of the wealth generated in recent years, Irish society remains highly unequal, according to the Human Development report from the UN Development Programme.
However, Mr Ahern will have good news to announce with a significant improvement in Ireland's ranking in the report's main measure of quality of life, the Human Development Index. Last year, Ireland ranked 18th of the 175 countries surveyed, while its per capita income was fourth in the world.
Although the full report is not being published until later today, Government sources have confirmed that Ireland's ranking for poverty and inequality has not improved since last year.
In last year's report, Ireland was placed 16th out of 17 western countries on both counts, with 15.3 per cent of the population living in poverty. Only the US had a worse record.
In previous years, Government representatives have disputed the UNDP figures, saying they are based on outdated information and/or a different measure of poverty.
Last night, Mr Ahern promised that Ireland would play a constructive role with its EU partners in fashioning a new world trade agreement.
"We will seek to ensure that the crippling burden of poor-country debt remains at the centre of the development agenda. And we will continue to press the cause of development and human rights in every available forum."
The report is the UN system's most prestigious annual publication, providing a detailed statistical snapshot of the state of the world. The decision by the UNDP to hold its global launch in Dublin is a vote of confidence in Ireland's aid policies, and in particular the massive increases in aid spending of recent years.
Ireland was a "wonderful leader" which had shown the way for other countries, the UNDP's administrator, Mr Mark Malloch Brown, said last night. "Ireland has led by example in showing how to make the global partnership between rich and poor countries a reality."
This year's report concentrates on the UN's Millennium Development Goals, which aim to cut world poverty by half by 2015. It argues that the wealthy countries of the North must deliver on their promises to dismantle unfair trade barriers, to grant meaningful debt relief and to support democratic reform if these goals are to be achieved.
The musician Bono and the economist Mr Jeffrey Sachs will join the Taoiseach and Mr Malloch Brown at today's launch.
