For many people in Ireland, the Celtic Tiger represented more than a successful economic model. Having long suffered the twin blights of poverty and unemployment, the boom years of the 1990s and early 2000s symbolized a dramatic reversal of fortune that brought with it a newfound confidence and optimism.
An analysis of the country???s social and economic policies down through the years throws into question whether the Fianna Fail governments which were at the helm of Ireland???s economy from 1987 to 2011 - albeit in coalition with a series of junior partners - were all that committed to the wellbeing of ordinary Irish people, however. Furthermore, the recovery policies implemented in the wake of Ireland???s much-publicised economic collapse have been markedly retrogressive in character, severely undermining what gains had previously been made with regard to the economic and social rights of vulnerable sectors.
A series of austerity budgets, drawn up in conjunction with the IMF and EU, have been characterized by harsh cuts in social spending and a pronounced aversion to tax increases, despite the fact Ireland remains one of Europe???s lowest tax economies. As a consequence, the country???s already-struggling health and education systems are being stripped of their resources just as poverty levels soar and unemployment tightens its grip on the country. Meanwhile, the growing number of families forced to register on already-bloated waiting lists for social housing are obliged to watch helplessly as thousands of newly-built homes lie empty or uncompleted.
Underpinning this lamentable situation is the now-defunct Fianna Fail government???s enthusiastic promotion of an unsustainable property boom, and its subsequent decision to socialise the massive losses incurred by incautious banks. Moreover, the fundamental human rights principles of transparency, accountability and participation have been largely ignored in crises response measures that promise to limit Ireland???s economic wellbeing for many years to come. More worrying still is the fact that when the crisis first broke state institutions responsible for the protection of human rights were immediately subjected to disproportionate cuts in a move that throws serious doubt on the government???s commitment to meeting its obligations under various international human rights agreements. The Combat Poverty Agency, although ostensibly absorbed into the Office for Social Inclusion, was effectively decommissioned, while the Irish Human Rights Commission lost over 30 per cent of its funding. The price for this short-sightedness is now being paid by Ireland???s most vulnerable sectors - such as women, children, Travellers, migrants, older persons and the disabled ??? who played no part in causing the debacle.
In October 2011, representatives of the new Fine Gael-labour government told the United Nations Universal Periodic Review that their administration was committed to protecting ESC rights despite financial constraints. Given that the human rights impacts of the crisis, and the previous government???s clumsy response to it, are just beginning to manifest, it is crucial that the new government make good on this promise. The evidence so far does not bode well, however, as the 2012 budget followed the same 2:1 ratio of spending cuts to tax increases seen in previous budgets.
CESR believes that the wellbeing of ordinary Irish people must be placed at the center of both the design and implementation of economic and social policies. Furthermore, human rights principles offer the best framework for the achievement of an equitable and sustainable recovery that not only protects the human rights of people in the country, but also ensures they cannot be unnecessarily prejudiced in the future. CESR added its voice to those of Irish social justice organizations by circulating an advocacy document at the country???s UPR appearance in October 2011. That report was followed by a more comprehensive analysis of the causes and consequences of Ireland???s economic woes - entitled ???Mauled by the Celtic Tiger: human rights in Ireland???s economic meltdown??? - published in December 2012.