History and Development of Social Policy

1265 Words6 Pages
Discuss the relevance of the changing understandings of poverty for Irish social policy. In this essay I will look examine the concepts of absolute poverty, relative poverty and social exclusion. By way of discussing these issues, it is necessary to go back to an Ireland long before the excesses of the Celtic tiger and the relative poverty being experienced by many people today. Relative poverty is an accepted standard of living at a particular time. The cultural, social and biological needs are taken into consideration (Browne, 2011). Townsend (1979), cited in Browne (2011) provides a classic definition of poverty ‘’Individuals...can be said to be in poverty when they lack the resources to obtain the types of diets, participate in the activities and have the living conditions and amenities which are customary, or at least widely encouraged or approved, in the societies to which they belong. Their resources are so seriously below those commanded by the average individual or family that they are, in effect excluded from ordinary living patterns, customs or activities’’. People who live in relative poverty often lack resources and may not be able to live a normal life that most people can enjoy. This in turn means that they may become socially excluded. Social exclusion is when people cannot participate in education, work, community life and do not have access to services and other aspects of life that are part of life for other people in society. (Browne, 2011). Absolute Poverty is a more severe type of poverty that some people may experience. Specker et.al (2006; 7) examined the term absolute poverty. He described that the Copenhagen declaration of the world summit for social development defined poverty as “a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation, facilities, health, shelter, education
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