NI: One in two children live in poverty
More children in Northern Ireland are falling into the poverty trap, a charity claimed today.
According to Save the Children, one in two children in the province are either living in poverty or at risk from it.
Traveller children, where some of the worst poverty is experienced, are 10 times more likely to die before the age of 10 than children in settled homes.
The statistics are contained in a pack entitled ‘Poverty’ produced by the charity and drawn from local and international research.
Save the Children claimed today 32% of children in the province are living in homes whose only income comes from benefits and a further 18% hail from families claiming working family tax credit.
Other findings showed:
* Children born into poor homes are 15 times more likely to die in house fires and four times more likely to die before the age of 20.
* They encounter greater educational difficulty, with their families unable to buy sufficient clothing or books.
* A poor diet affects the ability of children to learn. High levels of ill health mean they miss school.
* Young people from poor households are three times less likely to attend further and higher education.
* One in three lone parents at times go without food to enable their children to eat.
* Children from low income homes have lower career aspirations and are more likely to want jobs which require little training or academic qualifications.
With research showing that poverty figures for children have grown since the last Save the Children report in 1995 and despite the introduction of working family tax credit, researcher Goretti Horgan said the charity would be lobbying MLAs and other decision makers to address the situation.
“In 1995, we created shockwaves when we revealed that one in three children in Northern Ireland lived in poverty,” she said.
“It is absolutely outrageous that seven years on, the statistics are worse.
“We will be lobbying MLAs, decision makers and presenting our findings to Stormont to make sure that the facts are known.”
Ms Horgan said it was essential that a children’s strategy was drawn up for the province to tackle poverty.
She continued: “It is not enough to be shocked and saddened by the statistics but we must work quickly to make sure that decisions are made to ensure that this appalling level of poverty does not continue and that all children in Northern Ireland have equal opportunity to health, education and hope for the future.”
