Shameful levels of child poverty will be one of this Government\u2019s enduring legacies, according to Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore.<\/p>\n
Deputy Whitmore, who is the party\u2019s spokesperson on children, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe release of the Children\u2019s Rights Alliance\u2019s third Child Poverty Monitor makes for grim reading.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe report reveals that 260,773 children experienced enforced deprivation in 2023 \u2013 the equivalent of more than the population of Clare and Waterford combined.<\/p>\n
\u201cIreland is a wealthy country. There is simply no justification for allowing a child to go to bed hungry or not having clothes or shoes that fit for school.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe report found that the biggest gap in Government action for children in the last three years has been on income, as poverty starts with not having enough money to buy everyday essentials.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the last budget, the Government only raised the Qualified Child Increase by a derisory \u20ac2 \u2013 not nearly enough to prevent families from falling into poverty.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is happening at a time when more than 4,000 children are living in emergency homeless accommodation due to the Government\u2019s failure to get to grips with the housing crisis.<\/p>\n
Sadly, as the report points out, it is children and young people who shoulder the highest consistent poverty rates of any age group in the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo much for this Government\u2019s commitment to make Ireland the best country in Europe to be\u00a0a\u00a0child.\u201d<\/p>\n
May 20, 2024<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Shameful levels of child poverty will be one of this Government\u2019s enduring legacies, according to Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore. Deputy Whitmore, who is the party\u2019s spokesperson on children, said: \u201cThe release of the Children\u2019s Rights Alliance\u2019s third Child Poverty Monitor makes for grim reading. \u201cThe report reveals that 260,773 children experienced enforced deprivation in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2069,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[542,268,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-child-poverty","category-jennifer-whitmore","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n