THE Children’s Rights Alliance launched its latest annual Child Poverty Monitor yesterday.
This gives an insight into the lived reality of children and young people experiencing poverty.
The number of children living in consistent poverty in 2024 almost doubled to 102,977, while one in five – 256,837 kids – experienced deprivation.
Tanya Ward, chief executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance, said: “A childhood in poverty is one spent in cold, dark and damp housing, travelling hours just to get to school or knowing that there won’t be a hot dinner for the rest of the week.
“Thousands of families are being forced to live on such tight margins that they live in constant fear of their child needing a hospital visit or getting a letter about the next school trip.
“What is deeply concerning is the number of children in consistent poverty – who are living in these conditions perpetually. These are children for whom a decent standard of living and aspirations of a better future diminish day by day.
“This poverty is not inevitable. Policy decisions and budget investments determine the fate of these children and young people.”
Here, Tanya looks at four key areas where children were failed last year.
HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS
WE only need to look at last month’s figures that show an additional 100 children made homeless to know that the current policy is not working and inflicting untold trauma on the now 4,775 children without a home.
The rise in homeless figures is nothing new. We have seen a year-on-year increase every time we publish the Child Poverty Monitor. The combination of rising rents and a scarcity of supply has resulted in thousands of families being made homeless but also, countless more living in seriously cramped and inappropriate conditions.
Overcrowding is a major issue for children living on the lowest incomes. Almost one in four children at risk of poverty are growing up in overcrowded households.
While the trend is more common across Europe, the rate of overcrowding for children has effectively doubled in Ireland from 2021 to 2024, and we are only scratching the surface on what impact these conditions are having on children.
FAMILY SUPPORT AND ALTERNATIVE CARE
WITHOUT access to critical child protection and welfare services and family support in their community, families are pushed further to breaking point. Referrals to Tusla Child and Family Agency have increased by 70 per cent since 2019.
The Daniel McAnaspie Inquest called for a review of child protection and welfare services to ensure that Tusla has sufficient resourcing to keep children safe.
Last year’s budget allocation to Tusla was mostly to maintain existing levels of care, failing to acknowledge the spike in referrals and the increased complexity of cases.
We are calling for direct investment of €50million to ensure our core child protection and welfare services are supported to help children most vulnerable in society.
ADEQUATE INCOME:
POVERTY and income are inextricably linked. As rent and the cost of living eat away at available income, families are left without enough money in their pockets, going to extraordinary lengths and debts just to get through the week.
Positively, Budget 2025 acknowledged the higher cost of older children by raising the Child Support Payment, but the incremental increases of a few euro are barely enough to buy the bottle of milk and shampoo that week.
This targeted income support is designed to help children in families already relying on social welfare to level the playing field. The cumulative impact of continued rising costs has created a landslide effect for low-income families, meaning ensuring the very basic necessities such as nutritious food or keeping your home warm become increasingly difficult.
It is critical that these supports are increased adequately in Budget 2026, and that investment is sustained across subsequent budgets under this Programme for Government.
EARLY YEARS AND EDUCATION:
THE single most effective action the Government can take in breaking the intergenerational cycle of child poverty is to invest in children in their early years.
The Government has taken the first step in addressing this through the development of Equal Start that aims to deliver universal and targeted supports to families and early years settings grappling with the impact of poverty.
However, the programme is not sufficiently funded. We need to see investment significantly scaled up in Budget 2026.
Poverty is scarring for children. Schools are grappling with crime, violence, addiction, death in their school communities and childhood trauma that is beyond the capacity of the current DEIS programme.
There are also children experiencing poverty who do not attend a DEIS school. We need to see the introduction of a dedicated fund for non-DEIS schools so they can respond and support their students dealing with adverse childhood experiences.
The multifaceted nature of child poverty is laid bare in the Child Poverty Monitor and in wider research. As it stands, it will take Ireland four to five generations to break the cycle of poverty. Children cannot wait that long.
