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Almost half the world's population live on less than €5 a day, Oxfam says

A new report has found almost half the global population live on less than €5 per day. While...
Newstalk
Newstalk

21.16 21 Jan 2019


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Almost half the world'...

Almost half the world's population live on less than €5 a day, Oxfam says

Newstalk
Newstalk

21.16 21 Jan 2019


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A new report has found almost half the global population live on less than €5 per day.

While Oxfam said the wealth of the world's billionaires increased by €2.2bn per day last year.

The report - 'Public Good or Private Wealth?' - highlights how "the world economy rewards those at the top, while people living in poverty get poorer".

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It said last year, the 3.8 billion people who make up the poorest half of the world saw their wealth decline by 11% - while billionaires' fortunes rose by 12%.

The charity is calling on the Irish Government to end rising inequality by tackling tax avoidance and funding free universal public services.

Jim Clarken is the chief executive of Oxfam Ireland: "Halving extreme poverty is one of our greatest global achievements over the last 30 years but this is being jeopardised by rising inequality.

"Our report shows how decades of progress in reducing global poverty has disturbingly slowed - the rate of reduction has halved since 2013, with extreme poverty actually increasing in sub-Saharan Africa.

"This is a direct result of inequality - the human cost of which can no longer be ignored - and is largely seen in a lack of access to quality public services.

"Tomorrow, as the elite convene in Davos, 262 million children will not go to school and almost 10,000 people will die because they cannot access healthcare.

"Tax avoidance by big businesses and wealthy individuals is depriving developing countries of US$170bn every year.

"By eliminating tax avoidance and agreeing a new set of rules to make the global tax system fairer, governments, including the Irish Government, can ensure more money is spent on providing free universal public services that reduce inequality and enable people to thrive - and in many cases survive."

It has called on everyone, including big businesses, to pay their fair share of tax.

"This means ending tax avoidance and evasion by corporates and the wealthy", it said.

"Ireland has an important role to play in this regard and needs to agree a new set of global rules and institutions to fundamentally redesign the tax system to make it fair, with developing countries having an equal seat at the table.

"These new rules would include increased transparency of multinational corporations (MNCs) tax affairs and implementing effective mechanisms to end profit shifting by MNCs in Ireland and abroad."

Mr Clarken added: "Unless our leaders at home and across the world act now to reduce inequality, the global goal agreed by world leaders to end extreme poverty by 2030 remains out of reach".


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