It is an indictment of this government that the number of children experiencing material deprivation has increased by nearly 15 percent at a time when budget coffers are overflowing, according to Social Democrats Finance Spokesperson R\u00f3is\u00edn Shortall.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis government pay lip service to addressing child poverty \u2013 but that is all. Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar made ending child poverty one of his key priorities. Instead, it has gone up.<\/p>\n
\u201cConfirmation today that the number of children experiencing material deprivation has soared by 15 percent is shocking and shameful. It is an indictment of this government and its inability to target supports at those who need them most at a time when coffers are overflowing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are in a period of extraordinary opportunity, with record \u20ac8 billion surpluses being recorded each year. However, instead of using that money wisely, to the benefit of the most vulnerable in our society, what we have seen instead is waste, mismanagement and ineptitude.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis government is all spin and no substance. It speaks the language of probity and equality \u2013 but what we see is recklessness and increasing poverty.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all know that childhood poverty has negative impacts that can last a lifetime. Eradicating child poverty is not just the right thing to do \u2013 it is the fiscally responsible thing to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is also the case that income inequality and growing deprivation can lead to social exclusion and a breakdown in social cohesion, which can have extremely detrimental impacts all across the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite that, the government has not only not been able to make a dent in child deprivation figures \u2013 they have increased under their watch. That is unforgiveable.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It is an indictment of this government that the number of children experiencing material deprivation has increased by nearly 15 percent at a time when budget coffers are overflowing, according to Social Democrats Finance Spokesperson R\u00f3is\u00edn Shortall. \u201cThis government pay lip service to addressing child poverty \u2013 but that is all. Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6715,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[542,7,264],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-child-poverty","category-press-release","category-roisin-shortall"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n