I suppose it happens at a number of levels. I think, first of all, there needs to be a strong government commitment from the top. What's actually at issue here is not necessarily more resources, although that's part of it, but it's a recognition that if we're to tackle poverty, we need to adopt a strategic approach, we need to know what the nature and scope and scale of poverty is, and we need to know what our objectives are and so on. It's that strategic thinking that is essential.
The second thing is that you need to believe that it can actually be effectively tackled. There's almost a kind of passive attitude that poverty will always be with us. It's harder then to mobilize people. In Ireland, we already had—that's why I mentioned this, maybe at too much length—a social partnership process there, involvement of employers, trade unions, and so on. They were engaged and they became committed to the project, so government could work with some of the key players in relation to combatting poverty.
Then more organized non-governmental groups came onboard, and they also were of great assistance because they represented the needs of people, they knew exactly what was happening on the ground, and they became part and parcel of the process as well.
I think it was that dynamic, led by government, that helped to galvanize the whole approach to combatting poverty, mixed in with a certain amount of frustration that despite a lot of effort, the outcomes weren't being achieved to the extent necessary. I think that's what happened.
Ten years down the road, there's absolutely no criticism of the strategy. There's criticism that not enough has been done and that things aren't being done well enough, but everyone accepts, at all levels of government and in civil society, that a strategic approach is necessary.
That actually happened in the European Union. I was involved in the European Union committees at the outset as well. I remember arguing strongly from an Irish experience how important a strategic approach was. Countries had reservations about it, they had reservations about EU involvement, but 10 years down the road, nobody but nobody queries this approach or how useful it is.
I suppose that is how I see how it happened. Of course, it developed on an incremental basis. In 2002 we went a lot farther than we had previously, and further again now. But once you get the process started, it will take on a life of its own, and people will see the merit in it.