The first commitment made in Our Shared Future – the 2020 programme for government – was that this Government would take a different approach to measuring progress. Over and above the normal measures of economic performance it would endeavour to monitor and improve wellbeing. It was in part the response to a perceived awakening on the part of voters, in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, to the value of a decent quality of life as against material wealth.
The result was Understanding Life in Ireland, an annual publication that pulls together information from a variety of sources in areas from mental health to cultural expression. The third report, published last week, fed into the National Economic Dialogue held in Dublin Castle this week, which in turn is part of the budgetary process. The report paints a picture of a country making progress on many fronts but not in the two areas that arguably matter the most: wealth equality and housing.
This is not to dismiss the importance of the other measures of quality of life looked at in the report, such as health and security. But a country in which a significant proportion of citizens feel they are being left behind in terms of income and home ownership has a problem.
The report tells us what we already know about income distribution: single-parent families struggle, households with two adults working have more disposable income and retired people have a greater net worth. The issue is that these gaps persist even as the country grows wealthier.
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It is a similar scenario when it comes to housing. We may be building more and better houses but the number of households spending over 40 per cent of disposable income to put a roof over their heads remains far too high. One in 10 households that pay a market rent and almost one in 20 households that pay a reduced rent fall into this category.
The division between those who own their home and those who don’t is stark. It makes sobering reading for the Government as it frames the next budget. The Taoiseach appears alive to the problem, telling the National Economic Dialogue that an overly cautious budget could exacerbate poverty.
It is unlikely that any one budget can make much of a difference given the deeply structural nature of inequality in housing and wealth distribution highlighted by Understanding Life in Ireland. And it is unlikely that the progress made in reducing wellbeing inequality in other areas covered by the report will compensate.
That should worry the Government. Deep-rooted inequality in areas such as housing and wealth distribution drive instability in society and foster a desire for change. The main beneficiaries of that will be Sinn Féin.