Catholic
families earn £200 a month less than Protestants.
From IRISH NEWS October 5th, 1999
By Valerie Robinson
CATHOLICS in Northern Ireland earn almost £200 less every month than Protestants,
new figures reveal. Research by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research
Agency has shown that a Catholic family's average weekly income is £306,
compared to £351 for Protestants - a difference of £180 or 15 per cent a
month. More Catholics depend of social welfare payments to meet their bills.
The survey revealed that 28 per cent of Catholics' average weekly income
is made up of social security benefit, compared to 18 percent for Protestants.
Low pay campaigners last night said they were not surprised by the figures.
They called for drastic changes to the north's employment policies to address
the imbalance. Chairman of the Low Pay Unit Paddy Logue said the results
were predictable because "low pay and low income is inextricably linked to unemployment". The Fair Employment Commission has consistently shown
that "Catholics are two-and-a-half times more likely to be unemployed than Protestant". But he said: "This is not to say that low pay is not known to any working- class Protestants."
"A growing number of working-class Protestants are being caught in the low
pay trap." Compared to some parts of England "particularly the south, all of Northern Ireland is affected by low pay". Mr Logue, who founded the Campaign
for Decent Wages in Derry in the early 1990s, said the government must resolve
income differences by raising the national minimum wage from £3.60 per hour
to £5. He added that "£5 an hour would go a long way to solving the problem". The survey, entitled the Northern Ireland Expenditure Survey Report for
1997/98, has shown that 64 per cent of Protestants' incomes are made up
of wages and salaries - the figure for Catholics stands at 57 per cent.
Director of charities body Nicva Seamus McAleavey said last night that historically
the employment pattern in the north had not favoured the Catholic community.
Young Catholics are still more likely to be unemployed than young Protestants.
Mr McAleavey said the new Targeting Social Need (TSN) strategy outlined
by the government would have to be "implemented vigorously", tackling wage
and job levels throughout the north.
During the period surveyed, Catholic households spent £287.60 per week while
Protestants spent an average of £293.90 every week. Figures show that Catholics
spent less on housing a week than Protestants - £25.90 (nine per cent) compared
to £31 (11 per cent). Protestants also paid out more on motoring expenses
- £45 (15 per cent) compared to £38.20 (13 per cent). A spokeswoman for
Barnardo's in Northern Ireland said the charity's main concern would be
for the welfare of children within low income households.
"If families are deprived then that is a worrying situation for a lot of children." "Their parents may love them but we would be worried that their physical wellbeing might not be really looked after." "We'd be concerned that they might not be getting the correct nutrition and, educationally, the best start in life." The spokeswoman said while the present Labour government was working to tackle poverty it would be up to the Northern Ireland assembly
to ensure the area's employment, benefit and services structure was adequate.
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