City, citizenship, social exclusion in Limerick

In contemporary societies, social exclusion has emerged as a key concept by which to analyse the adverse effects of economic and social processes on different groups in the population. Social exclusion can be understood as the cumulative impact of weak participation or non-participation by individuals or groups in activities, routines and practices taken for granted as normal in a given society. According to the Irish government's Combat Poverty Agency, social exclusion is the process whereby certain groups are pushed to the margins of society and prevented from participating fully by virtue of their poverty, low levels of education or inadequate life-skills. This marginalisation distances them from employment, income, and education opportunities, as well as social and community networks.¹ In addition to material and social disadvantages, socially excluded groups may also experience a lack of power or influence over their lives and over decision-making processes and policies which affect them. Such groups exhibit characteristics such as low income, residency in social housing, long-term reliance on social welfare payments, lone parenthood, early school leaving and risk of unemployment. Demographic characteristics such as age, disability, long-term illness and membership of an ethnic minority can also be cited as factors which compound the risk. In addition to its impact on those who experience it directly, social exclusion also poses serious challenges to policy-makers and service providers as it often signals high levels of social inequality which can result in alienation and social tension in society at large.