Huge Jump in Children at Risk of Poverty<\/p>\n
Dublin South West representative Se\u00e1n Crowe has described European statistics that show higher than average child poverty rates in Ireland and 33.9% of children here at risk of poverty as unacceptable. Crowe described the report as timely as it was another nail in the lie that the government peddle that the economic recovery is being felt across all sections of Irish society.<\/p>\n
Deputy Se\u00e1n Crowe said:<\/p>\n
\n\u201cOne in every three children in Ireland is at risk of poverty or social exclusion according to the latest figures published by Eurostat and Ireland is well above the European average when it comes to children at risk of poverty. The report Is timely as it was another nail in the lie that the Government peddle that the economic recovery is being felt across all sections of Irish society.<\/p>\n
\u201cChildren growing up in poverty and social exclusion are less likely to do well in school, enjoy good health and realise their full potential later in life, and are at a higher risk of becoming unemployed, poor and socially excluded. Children living in poverty live life on the margins, excluded from opportunities and often unable to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty. Studies also suggest that the longer a child is poor, the greater the deprivation they are likely to suffer in later life.<\/p>\n
\u201cPoverty also denies individuals what they need to flourish and denies Irish society the talents of those who never reach their full potential.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe statistics for severe material deprivation amongst children is also above average, with at least one in every eight children unable to access goods and services that would be considered ordinary or necessary by society.<\/p>\n
\u201cA child is considered deprived if they are denied access to a number of items including two pairs of properly fitting shoes, including a pair of all-weather shoes; fresh fruits and vegetables daily, three meals a day; or one meal with meat, chicken, fish or vegetarian equivalent daily;<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2013, 12% of children in Ireland were living in consistent poverty, and given the continued cuts to social spending by Government and the ongoing housing crisis. The rate of child poverty has doubled under the current Government, and despite their talk of recovery it is clear that more and more families are finding themselves in real hardship and are struggling to cope.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnecdotally, we know that support services and charities are under extreme pressure. Close to 1500 children are living in emergency accommodation and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul say they are inundated with requests from families with children, who are experiencing poverty.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey entered Government claiming that they would protect working people, families and the vulnerable. Instead they have implemented an agenda of cuts that have hit low and middle income families the hardest.<\/p>\n
\u201cCuts to child benefit, to lone parent payments, to the health service and in education,\u00a0 have created untold hardship and deprivation and added to the burden facing many disadvantaged\u00a0 families.<\/p>\n
\u201cIreland needs a fair and inclusive recovery an economy that puts the needs of children ahead of bankers, speculators and politicians. These latest statistics are another reminder of the scale of inequality that needs to be addressed if we are to bring about a more inclusive society.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Huge Jump in Children at Risk of Poverty Dublin South West representative Se\u00e1n Crowe has described European statistics that show higher than average child poverty rates in Ireland and 33.9% of children here at risk of poverty as unacceptable. Crowe described the report as timely as it was another nail in the lie that the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2416"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2416\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2417,"href":"http:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2416\/revisions\/2417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}