Post by Stallit 2 de Halfo on Mar 27, 2008 21:37:56 GMT
A nation divided by wealth’
IRIS 127
ACCORDING to The Emerald Isle, The Wealth of Modern Ireland published by the national Irish Bank and quoted by Vincent Browne, in the Irish Times of February 13, there is a Porsche club in Ireland now. There are 20 to 30 model 911 Porsches in the country ranging in price from €175,000 to €250,000. Turbo Porsches retail around €250,000.
In the first half of 2007, 5,700 MBWs were registered in the 26 Counties. Jaguar increased its market share by one-third since 2000. Mercedes increased its market share by a half.
There are between 40 and 50 private jets based in the 26 Counties; there are 140 registered helicopters; there are approximately 25,000 leisure boats according to the Irish Marine Institute, with boat sales running at about €50 million per year.
Helicopter flying lessons cost anything up to €20,000.
Holidays in the Middle and Far East are booming with non-stop shopping, designer malls and wall-to-wall sunshine. Purchasing of art is on the increase, due more to tax incentives than to aesthetic appreciation.
The report stated that “..aggregate household wealth doubled in five years”.
Last year the Bank of Ireland published a similar report The Wealth of the Nation. It stated that the top 1% of the population held 20% of the wealth, with the top 5% holding 40% of the wealth, leaving the remaining 60% of the wealth to be shared among 95% of the population.
But if the value of housing is left out then the top 1% weld over 34%. It said 3,000 millionaires were created in 2007. Of these 30,000 had wealth of up to €5million and 330 had wealth in excess of €30 million.
On the other side of the coin according to the report from the Central Statistics Office, EU Survey in Income and Living Conditions, almost 7% of the country is living in consistent poverty, almost 300,000 people living below €11,000 per year for a single person. 17% (over 700,000) are at risk of poverty, living on €27,000 - a household of two adults and two children.
The disparity in lifestyles and incomes must surely be a serious cause of concern. Spending €2,000 on a bottle of wine can hardly be justified when people are sleeping in sleeping bags on the streets; when there are 200 detox beds in Dublin for 5,000 heroin addicts and when victims of domestic violence are turned away from shelters because they are full up.
Vincent Browne asks the question: “Is it really the case that the system would come crashing down if there was a little more equity in how our wealth and income were distributed?”
In his February 20 column, Vincent Browne claims that more than 5,000 people die every year in the 26 Counties because of inequality and deprivation. Quoting figures from Inequalities in Mortality he stated that for all cancers the report showed there was a mortality rate of 83.1 per 100,000 for the highest social group but 185.2 for te lowest social group. “That is over twice the mortality for the poor as compared to the rich.”
IRIS 127
ACCORDING to The Emerald Isle, The Wealth of Modern Ireland published by the national Irish Bank and quoted by Vincent Browne, in the Irish Times of February 13, there is a Porsche club in Ireland now. There are 20 to 30 model 911 Porsches in the country ranging in price from €175,000 to €250,000. Turbo Porsches retail around €250,000.
In the first half of 2007, 5,700 MBWs were registered in the 26 Counties. Jaguar increased its market share by one-third since 2000. Mercedes increased its market share by a half.
There are between 40 and 50 private jets based in the 26 Counties; there are 140 registered helicopters; there are approximately 25,000 leisure boats according to the Irish Marine Institute, with boat sales running at about €50 million per year.
Helicopter flying lessons cost anything up to €20,000.
Holidays in the Middle and Far East are booming with non-stop shopping, designer malls and wall-to-wall sunshine. Purchasing of art is on the increase, due more to tax incentives than to aesthetic appreciation.
The report stated that “..aggregate household wealth doubled in five years”.
Last year the Bank of Ireland published a similar report The Wealth of the Nation. It stated that the top 1% of the population held 20% of the wealth, with the top 5% holding 40% of the wealth, leaving the remaining 60% of the wealth to be shared among 95% of the population.
But if the value of housing is left out then the top 1% weld over 34%. It said 3,000 millionaires were created in 2007. Of these 30,000 had wealth of up to €5million and 330 had wealth in excess of €30 million.
On the other side of the coin according to the report from the Central Statistics Office, EU Survey in Income and Living Conditions, almost 7% of the country is living in consistent poverty, almost 300,000 people living below €11,000 per year for a single person. 17% (over 700,000) are at risk of poverty, living on €27,000 - a household of two adults and two children.
The disparity in lifestyles and incomes must surely be a serious cause of concern. Spending €2,000 on a bottle of wine can hardly be justified when people are sleeping in sleeping bags on the streets; when there are 200 detox beds in Dublin for 5,000 heroin addicts and when victims of domestic violence are turned away from shelters because they are full up.
Vincent Browne asks the question: “Is it really the case that the system would come crashing down if there was a little more equity in how our wealth and income were distributed?”
In his February 20 column, Vincent Browne claims that more than 5,000 people die every year in the 26 Counties because of inequality and deprivation. Quoting figures from Inequalities in Mortality he stated that for all cancers the report showed there was a mortality rate of 83.1 per 100,000 for the highest social group but 185.2 for te lowest social group. “That is over twice the mortality for the poor as compared to the rich.”